Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

No, it's an American gymnast.

Stephen Nedoroscik, of the United States gymnastics team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, has become a breakout star since his performance on Jul. 29, 2024, which secured the U.S. team its first medal in 16 years.

Nedoroscik, 25, specialises in the pommel horse.

He was participating in the men's artistic team all-around event at the Bercy arena.

His teammates included Asher Hong, Paul Juda, Brody Malone and Fred Richard.

Superman moment

The pommel horse is all about rhythm, precision, and balance.

Nedoroscik was the last to go in his team, so the pressure was on.

According to a TikTok video by Sports Illustrated, he was waiting for nearly two hours and 24 minutes for his turn.

The picture of him bespectacled, biding his time and taking a nap went viral:

if i send u this just know im gonna put in WORK right after this nap pic.twitter.com/NUOtxeHDLM

— Matt Ellentuck (@mellentuck) July 29, 2024

When it was his turn, however, Nedoroscik, like something out of the Superman comics, ripped off his glasses and stepped into the limelight.

He then delivered a sharp, dazzling 40-second routine on the pommel horse, securing his team's hopes and snagging the bronze medal.

Nedoroscik's performance has since charmed audiences worldwide and he is now known as the "pommel horse guy".

Many have made memes of him napping in the stands, calling him a "sleeper agent", referring to a character who secretly achieves success despite not drawing any attention to themselves initially.

Others have called him "Clark Kent" for taking off the glasses and transforming into something no one suspected.

NBC Olympics posted this to X, calling him the "Clark Kent of pommel horse":

Stephen Nedoroscik, the Clark Kent of pommel horse! 🫡🇺🇸 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/1HfYFSbJvH

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 30, 2024

Crossed eyes

Nedoroscik has crossed eyes, also known as strabismus, he said in a TikTok video:

@gymnaststeve I literally cannot find anything on the subject!! Tag some doctors in the comments #eyeproblems #Strabismus #coloboma ♬ original sound - Stephen Nedoroscik 🇺🇸

He told USA Today that he needed to take his glasses off for the pommel routine, if not they would "fly somewhere".

In fact, Nedoroscik used to wear a pair of sports goggles without prescription lenses back when he was a college athlete.

His college teammates called them "The Specs", and Nedoroscik wore them purely for fun.

He sometimes wears them for superstitious reasons, according to his Olympics profile.

He is also apparently pretty good at solving Rubiks Cubes:

@theindy100 Viral 'pommel horse guy' Stephen Nedoroscik isn't just great at gymnastics 🤯 Team USA have given a behind-the-scenes look at what he's up to when he's not sat waiting two hours for his shot at an Olympic medal... #teamusa #pommelhorse #paris2024 #olympics #fyp #trending ♬ original sound - Indy100

Top photo from NBCOlympics/X & PennStateMGYM/X.