Stephen Nedoroscik has nothing to hide this time. As he prepares for the U.S. Championships, the Olympic hero is letting fans see the struggle behind his comeback. Two years after becoming one of the biggest stars of the Paris Olympics, Nedoroscik is back in Phoenix with another goal in sight: earning his way back onto Team USA.

A few days before the championships, Nedoroscik gave fans a look at how his preparations were really going. He posted a training clip from the pommel horse and admitted, “It’s been a difficult journey to get here,” before adding that he was ready to take his shot at making Team USA again. He hasn’t tried to hide the bumps along the way. In fact, Nedoroscik has been much more open about his shoulder recovery this time around.

“I kind of think it’s just being a little bit real with your audience… You know, I’ve done it in the past where I was pushed through injury and kind of just didn’t tell anyone, and it’s not as rewarding as you think it’d be, you know.”

That openness comes from experience. He has pushed through injuries before without telling people what he was dealing with, including during the 2021 World Championships.

“So, with this sort of process that I’m in, I just kind of wanna be honest with my fans, the people cheering me on, like ‘Hey, I’m struggling and I’m working to push through this stuff’ and I think it’s kind of a side that athletes don’t like to show because it might feel like an excuse; it might feel like weakness, but I’m just trying to be honest.”

If we take a look back at how his career has shaped up in the past two years, Paris was surely the high point. But the year after it was a struggle. Nedoroscik slipped to fifth at the 2025 U.S. Championships, scoring 27.400 compared to the 30.000 that had won him the national title a year earlier.

Then came another setback. In October 2025, he had surgery on his right hip after dealing with a double labrum tear and cartilage damage.

Again, in May this year, his right shoulder became another concern. He avoided surgery but could only return to training shortly before June’s national qualifier.

Still, he managed to win that competition with a 14.300, producing a strong 9.200 execution score. Now, with the U.S. Championships arriving, he is preparing to compete again, although he admits he feels less ready than he did last year.

However, his expectations are refreshingly simple. “Success is giving me a hit routine,” Nedoroscik said with a laugh.

More importantly, he wants to finish without making his injuries worse. Whatever happens after that, he has already decided how he wants to approach the moment: “I’m gonna land that routine, I’m gonna look at the judge… there’s gonna be a smile on my face.”

Talking about his shoulder injury, for now, surgery does not appear to be looming. Nedoroscik described the shoulder as having “slight damage,” but said there was “nothing surgically concerning” at the moment.

And the bigger picture remains LA28. Rather than walking away after his Olympic breakthrough, Nedoroscik has already set his sights on competing at a Games on home soil.

“I’m going to continue going,” he previously told USA Gymnastics. “L.A. (2028 Olympics) would be amazing, so I want to shoot for that.”

His body may determine how far that journey goes. But Nedoroscik has made one thing clear: he wants to find out just how far he can take it.

“I’ve always told myself, ‘I want to be done with the sport when my body is done with the sport,’ and I’m still getting better,” he said in 2025. “I feel like I’d be doing myself a dishonor to not see how far I could go.”

Now, Phoenix is where the next chapter begins. After a year of injuries and setbacks, Nedoroscik gets another chance to show how far he has come. And with LA28 still in his sights, this could be the first step toward another Team USA run.