“I won an Olympic medal and now I’m coming for that mirror ball,” said Stephen Nedoroscik before the ‘Dancing With the Stars’ season 33 finale. In the Redemption round, Nedoroscik and his dance partner Rylee Arnold danced to ‘I’ll Be There for You’ and earned 29 points, along with praises from the judges. “You were riding in top gear: fast, smooth, clear in your timing, you turned it into a Rolex,” Tonioli told the gymnast.

Well, for the Freestyle round, the due swayed to Coldplay’s iconic ‘Viva la Vida’, and earned a spotless score of 30. After all, they had decided to capitalize on what Nedoroscik was the best—the pommel horse and hence, he brought gymnastics into the ballroom once again. “Combining gymnastics and dance takes an absurd amount of energy,” Nedoroscik said before his performance. “I’m doing a whole lot for two minutes straight, and it is tough—even as hard as my Olympic pommel horse routine.”

The judges were surely impressed and no wonder, Tonioli stated, “What I loved about it, it was athletic and artistic at the same time, a perfect combination. Extremely lyrical movements, very emotional, beautifully blended, I really liked the song.”

Unfortunately, Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold couldn’t win the DWTS Mirror Ball. It was Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson, who won the finale. Here are the standings:

Second place: Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten
Third place: Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong
Fourth: Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold
Fifth: Danny Amendola and Witney Carson

How does Stephen Nedoroscik feel about not winning DWTS? Well, he took to his X account and changed his bio. “At least it wasn’t another bronze,” he wrote referring to his Paris Olympics medals. He won the bronze for his routine on the pommel horse and also a bronze for helping the United States win the bronze in the team competition. However, we cannot ignore the bittersweet tone in the gymnast’s new bio.

All that said, the gymnast is also happy about his journey. He went from being stiff to feeling confident while dancing and even credited Arnold for bringing about these changes in him. He also accomplished something very important: Bringing more attention to men’s gymnastics. But talking about his DWTS journey, he wrote on X, “A perfect score, the perfect end of this amazing journey. I am so grateful to have been a part of something so amazing.”

Clearly, not everything was lost just because he didn’t win. Today, he can proudly exclaim that he not only was a finalist on DWTS but also earned a perfect score. He is making sure not to let the memories fade away anytime soon.

Stephen Nedoroscik is taking away a lot from this experience

Both Stephen Nedoroscik and Arnold impressively overcame their physical challenges to prove that setbacks can’t define who we are. Instead, it’s rising above the difficulties that show our mettle.

While Stephen Stephen had to find a way to meander around his eye troubles, Rylee Arnold also had to keep tabs on her type 1 diabetes to ensure she could keep up with the stringent demands of the show. And yet, while their final placement didn’t sit well with their fans, the former Nittany Lions gymnast made himself his own DWTS souvenirs.

Nedoroscik had previously revealed that his grandmother was a huge fan of the show, and was elated that he was competing in the show. “She’s a big fan of the show. It was kind of her dream that I was on it,” he noted and got to work to bring her something back after the dust had settled down. What was it? It was a sleeve from one of his costumes. This only inspired a new idea.

People have noticed that the gymnast’s cover photo on X shows small pieces of memos from his costumes on DWTS. This will surely remind him of his time on the big stage. While the show ended, the memories will stay.

How satisfied are you with the DWTS season finale results? Tell us if your favorite pair made it to the top three in the comment section!