(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE San Diego 2, Cleveland 1 Minnesota 7, Milwaukee 8 Boston 6, LA Dodgers 9
AMERICAN LEAGUE Baltimore 2, Texas 3 Chicago White Sox 1, Kansas City 4 Detroit 4, Toronto 5 NY Yankees 4, Tampa Bay 6
NATIONAL LEAGUE San Francisco 3, Colorado 2 Arizona 1, Chicago Cubs 2 NY Mets 2, Miami 4 St Louis 6, Atlanta 2 Philadelphia 6, Pittsburgh 0 Cincinnati 2, Washington 5
(NEW YORK) — Nearly one week into the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Team USA has a breakout star.
Stephen Nedoroscik, a 25-year-old pommel horse “specialist” on the U.S. men’s gymnastics team, was crucial in helping his team bring home a bronze medal in Paris, the men’s team’s first Olympic medal in 16 years.
In the final rotation of the team competition on July 29, Nedoroscik scored high enough, 14.866, in his only rotation for the team event to put the U.S. men in third place in the final standings.
“I just stayed in the moment for the whole routine, hearing [my teammates] just cheer me on the whole time,” Nedoroscik told ABC News Tuesday of his medal-winning routine. “By the time I got to the dismount, I thought to myself …, ‘If I put this dismount up and stick the landing, we get a team medal.’ So, literally, as I’m in the air, falling to my feet, you can see the smile already coming to my face, and, man, was that a moment I’ll never forget.”
Here are four things to know about Nedoroscik:
1. He has become known as ‘Mr. Pommel Horse’
Nedoroscik’s skill on the pommel horse, a difficult event that requires extraordinary strength and coordination, has earned him nicknames including “Mr. Pommel Horse,” and “pommel horse guy.”
After completing his 40-second pommel horse routine twice in the team competition, Nedoroscik will perform it again on Saturday, where he’ll have a chance to win an individual gold medal in the pommel horse final.
Nedoroscik told the Washington Post he knew there would be criticism of him only competing in pommel horse, and not the other five apparatuses, and he was prepared.
“I was completely aware of it,” Nedoroscik said. “I really wanted to make the Olympic team, and I knew that there was going to be backlash to it. I do one event compared to these guys that are phenomenal all-arounders. And I am a phenomenal horse guy. But it’s hard to fit on a five-guy team.”
According to his USA Gymnastics biography, Nedoroscik, the current U.S. pommel horse champion, is tied for the most U.S. pommel horse titles in history, at four.
He is also a past world pommel horse champion.
2. He competes with limited vision
Nedoroscik has also gained the nickname “Clark Kent” for the way he takes his glasses off when he competes, a la Superman.
The 25-year-old has shared on TiKTok that he has an eye condition called strabismus, or crossed eyes, which is a misalignment of the eyes that can lead to vision problems, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
He has also said previously that he has coloboma, an eye condition that people are born with in which a part of the tissue that composes the eye is missing, according to the National Eye Institute.
While Nedoroscik used to wear prescription goggles when he competed, he now competes without goggles or glasses.
“I don’t think I actually use my eyes on pommel horse,” he told the Washington Post. “It’s all feeling. I see with my hands.”
3. He is a Rubik’s Cube pro
The pommel horse is not Nedoroscik’s only talent.
Nedoroscik is also a pro at completing the Rubik’s Cube.
Just before competing in the team all-around competition, Nedoroscik posted on social media that he finished a Rubik’s Cube in just over nine seconds.
After the competition, Nedoroscik showed his skill was not a fluke, completing a Rubik’s Cube again in record speed for ABC News’ Good Morning America.
“Where I go the cube go,” he commented beneath a video of the moment on Instagram.
4. Nedoroscik and his girlfriend were both gymnasts at Penn State
Nedoroscik, who originally hails from Massachusetts, graduated from Penn State University in 2020.
He graduated with a degree in electrical engineering, according to his USA Gymnastics bio.
Nedoroscik’s girlfriend, Tess McCracken, was also a gymnast at Penn State, according to her Instagram account.
(PARIS) — Noah Lyles came up short in his quest for the 100-meter, 200-meter double at the Paris Olympics. He did get the bronze, but had been aiming to be the first American to win both in 40 years.
Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo took the gold in 19.46 seconds, running away from American Kenny Bednarek — who took silver — and Lyles.
Lyles told NBC after the race he tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, but chose to race anyway. His representative confirmed the diagnosis to ABC News.
Lyles was the favorite in the event, but ran only 19.70. He has a career-best of 19.31 — set at the world championships in 2022 — and a season best of 19.53.
Lyles looked extremely fatigued after the race and sat down on the track after the event. He was attended to by medical professionals and taken off the track in a wheelchair.
The 21-year-old Tebogo set a career-best time in the final as well as an African record.
Lyles also took bronze in Tokyo three years ago.
Usain Bolt is the last person to accomplish the 100 meters and 200 meters — in 2016 — when he did it for the third straight Olympics. Carl Lewis was the last American to win the 100 and 200 when he did the double at the Los Angeles Games in 1984.
Lyles won the 100 meters on Tuesday in a historically close race. He edged out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by just 0.005 seconds.
Lyles was attempting to win three golds at the Paris Games by also winning in the 100-meter relay. Lewis is also the last person to win the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4×100-meter relay when he did it in 1984.
Following his win in the 100 meters, Lyles was asked how he felt about completing the triple.
“Pretty confident,” he said. “I can’t lie.”
Lyles ran the anchor leg in the qualifying heats Thursday, taking first place in the group. The final will be held Friday at 1:47 p.m. ET. He told NBC he wasn’t sure if he would run in the 100 meters, but was leaning toward not competing.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE Miami Marlins 6, Baltimore Orioles 3 N.Y. Mets 12, N.Y. Yankees 3 Minnesota Twins 5, Philadelphia Phillies 4 Arizona Diamondbacks 8, Kansas City Royals 6 Colorado Rockies 20, Boston Red Sox 7
AMERICAN LEAGUE Cleveland Guardians 2, Detroit Tigers 1 L.A. Angels 2, Seattle Mariners 1 Toronto Blue Jays 6, Tampa Bay Rays 3 Texas Rangers 10, Chicago White Sox 2 Houston Astros 8, Oakland Athletics 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE Cincinnati Reds 9, Atlanta Braves 4 (Gm 1 Doubleheader, Gm 2 PPD) San Diego Padres 12, Washington Nationals 3 Pittsburgh Pirates 5, St. Louis Cardinals 0 Milwaukee Brewers 3, Chicago Cubs 2 San Francisco Giants 8, Los Angeles Dodgers 3