My favorite men's gymnastics event is the Pommel Horse. It is a visually simple task that is actually really hard to perform. You must always keep your body in motion - technically, you are not allowed to stop. You must keep your feet together, except on flairs (called "Thomas Flairs" because American Kurt Thomas first did them in competition). It is tedious to train on because it isn't flashy or likely to be on highlight reels or endorsements. And the US habitually falls down on this event.
I can't show the NBC Olympic coverage of the win, but here is an image and a link. To see him in action, I used last year's Worlds, in which he won the gold with the same routine.
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| You can see this on NBC here LINK |
American Stephen Nedoroscik hit his routine hard last night and was instrumental in getting the United States' first medal in team gymnastics in 16 years.>
I was there (in Beijing) in 2008. And the final routine that sealed the deal that year was also a pommel horse routine by Alexander Artemev (Sasha). I loved him because of his excellent pommel horse routine. I was sad he didn't make the squad, but then he was a last-minute replacement for an injured American. He cinched their win too.
You may wonder what made me love this. When I was a UCLA yell leader decades ago, Tim Dagget was on our squad and practiced next to the fast food place that I managed. Of course, being the great guy I am, the gymnasts ate for free from us. It had nothing to do with how cute they were.
Anyway Tim Dagget was a great guy and an expert on the Pommel Horse (he still is the commentator at the Olympics on this). I talked with him a lot (he was a Freshman and happy for free food). He explained the pommel, and I saw him do it often. I have a huge appreciation for it. So GREAT JOB Stephen. I'm happy.
And speaking of Tim Dagget..
I am awed and thrilled for the mens' 2024 Olympics teams, It was a joy watching, and i am especially proud of the accomplishments of the USA team. Well done! The ladies are also awesome!
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