Why gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik wears glasses: What to know about his eyesight

After winning two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, U.S. gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik says he has "eyes for something shinier" in 2028.

His eyes and trademark glasses have been the focus of intense interest at the games, turning him into a breakout star.

Nedoroscik takes off his glasses when he competes on the pommel horse, his only event. The routine has now become famous.

The “pommel horse specialist” helped Team USA’s men's gymnastics team win the bronze medal in the team final on Monday, July 29.

Nedoroscik also earned third place in the pommel horse final on Saturday, Aug. 3, becoming the only U.S. male gymnast to medal individually in Paris.

He summed up the week as "unforgettable" and hinted about training for the next Olympics.

"I am forever grateful to have had this opportunity. This Olympic experience has been everything and more," he posted on X.

"Thank you to everyone who has supported me. Bronze is a great achievement, but I got eyes for something shinier in my future #2028"

Nedoroscik’s transformation from a mild-mannered bespectacled mechanical engineer on the sidelines to powerful athlete defying gravity on the pommel horse drew comparisons to Clark Kent turning into Superman when he removes his glasses.

USA Gymnastics called him "Super Steve."

“I think they’re awesome,” Nedoroscik, 25, said of the memes during a TODAY segment that aired on Tuesday, July 30.

“I’m representing people that wear glasses well.”

Eye doctors agree.

It's "amazing" to see how much attention and awareness the elite gymnast is bringing to eye conditions and treatment options, says Dr. Dean Cestari, director of adult strabismus at Mass Eye and Ear, a member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system.

"I’ve never seen anything like this with the Olympiad," Cestari tells TODAY.com.

"I think it gives children a lot of hope."

Nedoroscik is already inspiring kids with vision problems. USA Gymnastics posted a photo showing a "really, really special moment" when the gymnast met a young fan with the same eye condition as him.

The gymnast talked with TODAY co-anchor Hoda Kotb while wearing her sunglasses because of an eye sensitivity — a condition he’s talked about on social media.

Here’s what Nedoroscik has shared about his eyesight:

What he sees when he competes without glasses:

“It’s not necessarily clear, but the thing about pommel horse is if I keep them on, they’re gonna fly somewhere,” Nedoroscik told TODAY about his preference to take off his glasses.

“When I go up on the pommel horse, it’s all about feeling the equipment. I don’t even really see when I’m doing my gymnastics. It’s all in the hands — I can feel everything.”

He has strabismus

Nedoroscik has crossed eyes — or strabismus, the medical term for the condition, he revealed on TikTok.

It happens when a problem affects eye muscles, causing the eyes to not line up properly and point in different directions, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Strabismus usually develops in infants and kids under 3, but it can also start later in life, the American Optometric Association notes. Overall, the condition affects about 2% to 5% of the population, Cestari says.

He has not examined Nedoroscik and isn't treating him, but based on photos of the gymnast, the ophthalmologist believes Nedoroscik may be farsighted and have accommodative esotropia, a common condition children are born with. It's a type of strabismus where one eye turns in toward the nose, but stops when the child is wearing glasses for farsightedness, according to Texas Children's.

People with strabismus can lose depth perception, or develop blurry or double vision.

"It’s incredibly bothersome. They see two separate images and they’re not sure which is the correct image," says Cestari, who is also an associate professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School.

"A lot of people who have this condition have a sense of embarrassment. They feel disfigured. It profoundly affects people in many, many different ways."

Many patients don’t know strabismus can be successfully treated in adulthood, Cestari adds, so he's excited Nedoroscik's fame is bringing attention to the condition.

The first treatment is to put the eyes in focus with glasses, if that’s appropriate, he notes.

Prism lenses in glasses can help manage the misalignment of the eyes by bending the light in a way that the brain sees it coming in straight from both eyes.

Botox injections to the muscles that control the eyes are another treatment option. Finally, surgery can correct the eye misalignment.

He has coloboma

This genetic condition happens when some of the tissue that makes up the eye is missing at birth, according to the National Eye Institute. One or both eyes could be affected.

There are different types of coloboma depending on which part of the eye is impacted. The missing tissue could involve the eyelid, lens, macula, optic nerve, retina or middle layer of the eye, the American Academy of Ophthalmology notes.

Nedoroscik has talked about living with coloboma on TikTok, explaining he’s photophobic, or light sensitive, because of it — perhaps why he borrowed Hoda's sunglasses.

Based on those comments, Cestari believes Nedoroscik may have a coloboma of the iris, the colored part of the eye that lets light in. It dilates or constricts based on how dark or light it is.

"But if you have a defect there, then the light is going to get in no matter what, and you’re going to become very light sensitive, especially in the sun," Cestari says.

Other symptoms include vision loss; not being able to see in a specific location, such as the upper part of the field of vision; or blindness.

Coloboma and strabismus could be linked because the decreased vision from coloboma can lead an eye to "deviate," resulting in crossed eyes, Cestari says.

There’s no cure, but glasses or contact lenses can help. Some patients may need low vision aids or surgery.

He sometimes wears sports goggles for ‘superstitious reasons’

They haven't made an appearance at the Olympics yet, but Nedoroscik began wearing the sports goggles his freshman year at Penn State. His college teammates called them “The Specs,” noting they were a Secret Santa gift that had no prescription lenses.

“They are simply for fun, kind of my trademark. I like to have fun out there,” Nedoroscik said in a 2022 video profile, adding he considers them a good luck charm. “From day one of competing with them, they had a little bit of magic to them.”

He sometimes uses them for comfort and “superstitious reasons,” rather than improving his eyesight, according to his official Olympics profile.

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This article was originally published on TODAY.com