A tale of two athletes: one who looked like his mom had to transport him to and from school to avoid fights he couldn’t win, and the other who looked like he had to fight each time he stepped outside his house. Neither of them were a-list athletes that the media prominently featured leading up to Paris, but what spectacular performances they gave us. And who knows better the thrill of an underdog breaking through for victory than a track and field athlete and fan? Gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik and trackster Quincy Hall gave us those special moments that put us on the edge of our couches, had us jumping for and crying tears of joy, and made us proud to be Americans.
Stephen Nedoroscik does one thing, and one thing really well. It’s ironic to call him an underdog, knowing that he is the first American to win the pommel horse at the world championships, a two-time NCAA (Penn State) and FIG World Cup champion, and a 4-time national champion. And yet, it looked like he was starting over from scratch in Paris. His teammates, stocky and cocky, dominated the media attention while he sat off to the side, scrawny and brawny, in meditation, donning thick glasses but avoiding peeks at the scoreboard to remain focused.
As the USA’s superstars finished their events in men’s team all-around, all of the muscles and bravado still had the team on the edge of not getting a medal. There was one event to go, the pommel horse, and the fate of the men’s team rested on Nedoroscik’s shoulders. The last USA athlete to perform, he delivered a clutch performance to secure a team bronze medal, something the USA hadn’t done in 16 years. You’re not human if you weren’t moved by Nedoroscik being lifted by his teammates in a triumphant celebration while he struggled to put on his glasses. The self-proclaimed dork, who can solve a Rubik’s Cube in under 10 seconds, not only saved the day, he became the only USA man to win an individual gymnastics medal in Paris, claiming pommel horse bronze.
Quincy Hall is an unheralded champion himself, an NCAA 400 meter hurdles titlist at the University of South Carolina and NACAC U23 champion in the same event. However, as the bronze medalist in his new event, the 400 meters, at the 2023 USA Track and Field Champions and the World Athletic Championships in Budapest a few weeks later, there was no media hype for him going into Paris even though he won the USA Olympic trials in a personal-best 41.17 seconds. Perhaps we should have seen Hall coming, having set the world-leading time just prior to Paris at 43.80 seconds and having been chosen by Track and Field News and USA Today as the predicted gold-medalist.
However, Hall qualified for the Olympic final with the third-best semifinal time, and his Olympic-experienced competitors were taller, broader and had breathtaking times and championship wins in previous years under their belts. A prediction of a third place finish for Hall would not have been a stretch. From the sound of the gun, Hall clinched his shiny gold teeth and held his head higher than what a coach would instruct him as he strained to keep up with the pace. Coming off the second turn, Hall was in 4th; and with 70 meters to go, he doubled-down on the grimacing, increased his arm swing and started bobbing his head as the rest of us started yelling at our TVs, “Run!” Hall picked off dying runners one by one and squeaked out a lean at the finish line, surpassing the leader by .04 seconds for his first Olympic gold. It was the dramatic performance of The Games and a finish comparable to Evelyn Ashford’s legendary relay anchor finish in Seoul in 1988.
Hall told the press that “you can’t outrun a dog. The dog will chase you forever,” but the dog couldn’t chase forever after all. His Herculean effort caused a leg strain, forcing him to withdraw from the 4 x 400 meter relay. However, that doesn’t take away from his breathtaking victory, it only leaves us one medal shy of a perfect story of the Dog winning an individual and team medal that the Dork was able to win.
Nedoroscik and Hall, two underdogs from two different worlds but with the same desire to hold on for a win provided us the thrills of the Olympics, the biggest stage of sports. They showed us all that if you never give up on yourself, a win is possible.