Strabismus and coloboma don’t stop Stephen Nedoroscik, of Worcester, from excelling on the pommel horse. Here’s how he does it.
By now many have become familiar with Stephen Nedoroscik, the pommel horse-specialist Olympian from Worcester who helped the U.S. men's gymnastics team win bronze on Monday at the all-around event in Paris.
His abilities and his looks have earned him the nickname Clark Kent, but unlike Superman’s alter-ego, Nedoroscik needs his glasses to be able to see properly. He’s got what doctors call strabismus and coloboma.
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The eye conditions don’t stop Nedoroscik from defying gravity on the pommel horse or using his super strength to win at the Olympics.
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The unassuming with thick eye frames doesn’t have supervision like Superman, but he does remove his glasses before competing.
“It's not necessarily clear but the thing about pommel horse is, if I keep them on, they're going to fly somewhere,” Nedoroscik told the TODAY show this week.
The 25-year-old’s strabismus means his eyes don’t look in the same direction, while his coloboma means he’s missing eye tissue that gives the pupil a cat eye or keyhole appearance.
“The most important thing that they can affect is the retina, which is where we perceive light,” noted Boston Children’s Hospital retina specialist Dr. Efren Gonzalez.
Gonzalez said coloboma often comes with blurred vision or even blindness.
“What happens is that more light comes in than in normal condition so they use protective glasses or sunglasses,” he said.
In fact, Nedoroscik wore sunglasses during the TODAY interview on Wednesday.
“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, you can feel everything,” he said.
“When somebody has a handicap in one of the senses, the other ones take over,” explained Gonzalez. “The incredible task that he just accomplished is incredible because some of these patients are considered visually handicapped.”
Gonzalez said that patients with coloboma in the retina need to be examined at least twice a year to monitor the retina and avoid it detaching from the eye, causing blindness.
Nedoroscik will be back on the pommel horse, looking to win another medal on Saturday.
