Team USA’s good luck charm and hard work paid off this year at the Paris Olympics, especially during the artistic gymnastics. The athletes performed exceptionally well and one of the names that you shouldn’t forget amidst all the victory celebrations is Stephen Nedoroscik. The young athlete helped break a 16-year-old curse that was upon his home team.

While most athletes credit their hard work, coaches, family, and friends after winning, Nedoroscik has one more thing to credit his victory to, and that is his superstitious rituals.

After his individual finals on August 3, the young gymnast had an interview with Teen Vogue. While talking to the interviewer, he revealed that he had to follow a ‘ritual’ to lead his country to medals in both individual and team events.

“I probably solved it about 100 times, maybe even more than that. It’s a way for me to kill time and is also a stress reliever as well,” said the American to Teen Vogue while talking about replacing a Rubik’s cube with his mobile device hours before his Pommel Horse final. It was also his way of ensuring that a good omen followed him ahead of his performances. He also added that he made his days monotonous to stay in the good books of whoever was responsible for ‘fate’. Nedoroscik further said, “I had to make sure to continue with the ritual.”

His routine seems to have paid off as Team USA gained a bronze medal in the men’s team finals on 29th July, making it the first medal for Team USA men’s gymnastics in 16 years. He also bagged bronze for the Pommel Horse apparatus in the individual round. This allowed him to embrace the ‘Superman’ joke that was running around the internet as he wrapped himself in a cape made of stars and stripes.

How did Stephen Nedoroscik get here?

Like many other top-tier athletes, Nedoroscik also started gymnastics early. Born into a Slovakian family, the little gymnast in him gained fuel for the first time when he was merely five years old. Growing up, he competed in all apparatuses but by the time Stephen Nedoroscik reached high school; he realized that he was more skilled in Pommel Horse than anything else. This revelation allowed him to focus more on that specific apparatus.

He was eventually recognized by the American Olympic Committee, which fetched him a spot on Team USA. His skills on the Pommel Horse were the deciding factor in signing him to the team. Although he stood in third place on the podium at the Paris Olympics for this apparatus, the next Olympic games may bring a bigger prize for the athlete of Slovakian descent. Until then, he will have plenty of time to prepare and also figure out more superstitious routines that may work for him and the team.

What are your thoughts on Team USA’s gymnastic performances so far?