“As soon as I heard about a Clark Kent superhero who helped the U.S. achieve bronze in a sport I used to participate in,” said Dr. Rupa Wong, a pediatric ophthalmologist at the Honolulu Eye Clinic who is an American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmologists and Strabismus member, “I had to learn more. I often convey to parents the new diagnosis of an eye condition – some of which can cause issues with vision. But I always tell parents to not place limits on their children, and their eye conditions do not define them. Stephen is proof of that!”
Stephen Nedoroscik, the pommel horse specialist for the U.S. Men’s Gymnastics team, won two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics, vaulting him to instant fame for his athletic skills – and making him a hero for glass wearers around the world.
Nedoroscik, 25, has coloboma, which is an absence of tissue in the eye. A person’s vision outcome depends on the location of the coloboma (whether it’s on the eyelid, retina, iris, or optic nerve), as well as its size. He also has strabismus, which is a misalignment of his eyes.
“This condition can cause loss of depth perception or even double vision,” said Dr. Wong, who is not Nedoroscik’s physician. “This may in part be the reason why Stephen removes his glasses when on pommel horse, to be able to solely focus on proprioception (body awareness) instead of his vision. Precision sports like gymnastics often depend upon depth perception, but Stephen has found a way to work around it.”
Nedoroscik sometimes discusses his eye conditions in videos on his social media accounts, even talking about his alternating esotropia (where he can change which of his eyes he is using to focus).
During the Olympics, he became a role model for children with eye conditions. “It was also my first-time meeting someone outside my family that has that disease,” Nedoroscik told the Associated Press. “That was so cool to see that. And, you know, he was just so happy.”
Dr. Wong said that many parents and kids may assume that because they have compromised vision or depth perception, there is no chance for them to become elite athletes in visually demanding sports.
“Stephen has shown this is just not true and has inspired a new generation of kids to continue their hard work and dream big,” she said.
Dr. Wong, who has posted several videos about Nedoroscik on her Instagram account, added that Nedoroscik is empowering a generation of kids to embrace their glasses.
“On the podium, on national interviews and in his daily life, he prefers glasses, and I think it's wonderful for kids who are wearing glasses for the first time to see this,” Dr. Wong said. “Unfortunately, young kids in glasses still get bullied, and I think it's extremely inspirational for kids to see someone who wears glasses like them achieving so much athletically and academically – Stephen is an engineer after all!”
The American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmologists and Strabismus’ goals are to advance the quality of children’s eye care, support the training of pediatric ophthalmologists, support research activities in pediatric ophthalmology, and advance the care of adults with strabismus. You can also find Dr. Wong’s Reels on AAPOS’ Instagram, @aaposeye.
The Children’s Eye Foundation of AAPOS’s mission is to end preventable vision loss in children and improve the lives of visually impaired children worldwide.