Gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik’s girlfriend, Tess McCracken, can’t get enough of the memes inspired by his 2024 Paris Olympics performance.
“My favorite so far has been the ‘and your friend Steve, do-do-do-do-do-do-do Steve,’” McCracken told E! News on Thursday, August 1. “I love that one.”
In a TikTok posted via the official NBC account, the rest of Team USA men’s gymnasts are seen competing before Nedoroscik, 25, finally appears. In one clip, Nedoroscik celebrates with his teammates as they lift him up off the ground.
But that’s not the only meme McCracken is loving. “There was also one where he takes off his glasses and he turns into Game 6 LeBron [James], or he’s the kicker that’s just on the sidelines the whole game who shows up and clinches the win with a 60-yard field goal. I love those. We also got the Duolingo Owl tweeting about him, which was crazy.”
@nbcolympics OUR FRIEND STEVE. 🇺🇸 #ParisOlympics #usagym #mensgymnastics #gymtok #gymnastics #stephennedoroscik #TeamUSA
McCracken and Nedoroscik met before their freshman year at Penn State during summer 2016. They both competed on the university’s gymnastics teams.
McCracken has been by her boyfriend’s side to support him at the Paris Olympics as he helped the U.S. men’s gymnastics team win their first medal in 16 years. (Nedoroscik, who specializes in the pommel horse event, secured the bronze medal alongside fellow gymnasts Brody Malone, Fred Richard, Asher Hong and Paul Juda.)
“The last few days have been an absolute whirlwind,” McCracken said on Thursday. “I knew his life was about to change, but I was not expecting to see so much come my way. And it’s been really lovely, but I can’t say I expected that.”
Since making his debut at the Olympics, Nedoroscik has become an internet sensation, with many likening him to Clark Kent due to his glasses. When Nedoroscik learned he was beloved on social media, McCracken said her boyfriend was “taken aback.”
“I was trying to show him things, like, ‘You’re a meme, you are viral. Look at all this stuff,’” she said. “And he loved them. He laughed at them. And at that point, they were just starting. We didn’t know what it was about to turn into.”
Nedoroscik is set to compete in the individual pommel horse final on Saturday, August 3.
“He is trying to get locked in,” McCracken said. “He had a lot of appearances and, as of today, he put his foot down and said, ‘I need to focus and get back dialed in. I’m only training from here on out.’”
