The men's gymnastics pommel horse has been the talk of Paris thanks to Stephen Nedoroscik, whose performance on the apparatus helped clinch bronze for Team USA in the team all-around.
Like Nedoroscik, affectionately nicknamed Clark Kent, the event has gone viral since the this week's thrilling podium comeback by the American men. Its origins actually date way back to the ancient Olympics and the stables of Rome.
The pommel horse descends from a wooden horse used by the Romans to teach mounting and dismounting. Pommel horse featured in the ancient Olympics and was among the events at the first modern Olympics in 1896.
"I think initially it was actually used to train military people, to mount horses," Stephen Nedoroscik, who gets the chance to medal in the individual event on Saturday, said.
The pommel horse is one of the six apparatuses men use during a gymnastics competition. The others include floor exercises, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bars.
Standing at 3 feet, 9 inches, a modern pommel horse is made of metal and covered with foam and leather. Original pommels were designed with a wooden body. They are mounted on an alloy base with a rubber coating so athletes can have good grips.
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Pommels come from the French word pomel, which means “knob”, or “hilt of a sword.” It traces back to the Latin word pōmum, meaning apple or fruit, the same root in the word pomegranate.
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Nedoroscik will soar into the event finals Saturday with a chance to put another medal in his carry-on before he heads home. His 15.200 qualifying score tied Ireland's Rhys McClenaghan for the tops among the eight finalists.
He is ready to ride the wave as far as it will take him. Yet whatever happens on Saturday or for the rest of his life for that matter, it will be difficult to top Monday night, when the guy with the curly hair and the glasses that made him the kind of social media sensation only the Olympics provides struck a blow for his sport, his teammates and himself.
“I'm really proud of these guys,” he said while sitting alongside the group that became U.S. men's gymnastics royalty. “I love you boys.”
| Rank | Country/NOC | Gymnast Name | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IRL | Rhys Mc Clenaghan | 15.200 |
| 2 | USA | Stephen Nedoroscik | 15.200 |
| 3 | GBR | Max Whitlock | 15.166 |
| 4 | JPN | Takaaki Sugino | 15.033 |
| 5 | UKR | Oleg Verniaiev | 15.033 |
| 6 | KAZ | Nariman Kurbanov | 15.000 |
| 7 | KOR | Woong Hur | 14.900 |
| 8 | NED | Loran de Munck | 14.766 |
The men's pommel horse final will air live on E!, Peacock and stream on nbcolympics.com.
If you missed it or want to see it again, it will replay in 'Primetime in Paris' on NBC, Peacock and streaming at nbcolympics.com starting at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday.
