Double Olympic bronze medalist Stephen Nedoroscik became an overnight star because of the simple act of taking off his glasses before stepping on the mat. The 25-year-old suave, combined with his double bronze medal-winning performances in Paris, earned him the ‘Clark Kent’ nickname. However, that was probably the first time something positive happened related to the gymnast’s vision.

That’s because Team USA’s Clark Kent has struggled with poor vision all his life. The Olympian elaborated on his struggles with pursuing gymnastics with a severely blurred vision on the Lightweights Podcast with Joe Vulpis. “I think it affects me in a ‘confidence’ way,” said Nedoroscik. Being unable to focus on objects without spectacles made things difficult, especially as a kid.

The gymnast explained how the bright lights often made it impossible to see the judges. While the Olympian found a workaround by asking his friends who could see the judges, that trick failed in 2021. “One memorable moment for me was in the 2021 Olympic trials. It was, for some reason, the brightest arena.” Stephen Nedoroscik confessed to Joe Vulpis.

Competitive gymnastics requires the competitor to not only see but also salute the judges, who sit not too far away from the action. Acknowledging the judges is a rule, and failing to do so carries point penalties. Even gymnastics icon Simone Biles incurred a penalty in Paris. The judges took some points when Biles failed to properly salute the judges.

So it’s no wonder that Stephen Nedoroscik felt nervous as a young gymnast. Unable to see the judges under the bright lights, the Penn State gymnast had a tough gauge on his performance from their reactions. Not even contact lenses, which the DWTS star could wear while performing on the pommel horse, helped.

“I have tried contacts in the past, but I also have astigmatism, so you know, that also makes it tricky,” revealed the former world champion. So although the contact lenses may have helped, they couldn’t solve his double vision. In fact, the reason Stephen Nedoroscik ditches his glasses during a routine is that no glasses can help his three different vision-related issues.

There’s no one-stop solution for Stephen Nedorosick’s eye problems

Stephen Nedoroscik’s now iconic move of taking off his glasses before approaching the pommel horse was born out of necessity. Since childhood, the gymnast has had strabismus (cross-eye), and that’s where the glasses have the Olympian the most. However, the other one, coloboma, is far more complicated, as it affected the development of the Olympic medalist’s eyes.

Coloboma may have also contributed to Stephen Nedoroscik’s developing astigmatism. Astigmatism alters how the eye refracts light by making the cornea develop into an egg-like shape. Since a normal cornea is spherical, astigmatism messes up the focal point by altering the path of the refracted light. Hence, Nedoroscik sees the judges and the lights as a blurry mess.

Since the Olympian’s glasses barely make a difference on the mat, they’re more of a liability when performing on the pommel horse. Taking them off is the better option. Thankfully, the 25-year-old has familiarized himself with the pommel horse to such a degree that he operates by feeling. This became evident to his Penn State teammates, who gifted him goggles with straps during his freshman year.

“They’re more for show than anything. They don’t have prescription in them,” confessed Ben Cooperman, who gave him the goggles as a Secret Santa gift. So while Nedoroscik’s eye problems still catch him off-guard like they did during the 2021 Olympic trials, he rose above them inside Bercy Arena when it mattered the most.