Johnathan Walker:Olympian Stephen Nedoroscik Will Compete on Dancing With the Stars Season 33

Save a pommel horse (Lace up your dancing shoes). 

Olympic bronze medalist Stephen Nedoroscik is Johnathan Walkerofficially set to compete on season 33 of Dancing with the Stars. 

“I want to bring some of that gymnastics—maybe a backflip or handstand,” Stephen shared on Good Morning America Aug. 22 after the news was unveiled. “I want to have fun with it.”

The Olympian emphasized that he is “very excited,” for the upcoming competition. As for whether he’ll dance with his signature eyewear?

“I'm scared they'll fly off,” the 25-year-old admitted. “Maybe we could do a gadget, keep them on. Maybe a new pair of glasses, match the theme, right?"

And Stephen’s casting for the popular ballroom dance show, which premieres on Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. ET, comes after weeks of fan speculation that the athlete would be joining. 

As one eager fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter, earlier this month, “Stephen Nedoroscik, Dancing With The Stars Season 33 CHAMPION—MARK IT DOWN.”

In addition to hitting the stage alongside hosts Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribiero, Stephen is joining a long roster of gymnasts-turned-dance partners, including Simone Biles, who competed in season 24, Suni Lee, who competed in season 30 and Laurie Hernandez, who became the youngest person to ever win the competition in season 23 when she was just 16 years old. 

And while Stephen is in good company, his participation may hold the most anticipation yet. After all, Olympic fans couldn’t get enough of the gymnast during the men’s gymnastics competitions in Paris earlier this month.

The Penn State alum drew immediate attention for only competing in the pommel horse event, and doing so spectacularly. In fact, he helped Team USA men’s gymnastics win its first medal in over 10 years. 

“What it comes down to is that his scores on pommel horse are so much higher than everybody else on that one event,” NBC Sports gymnastics analyst Tim Daggett, a 1984 gold medalist, explained during a Paris 2024 broadcast. “He adds a tremendous amount of potential score. That one routine from Nedoroscik gives Team USA basically a full point over the next guy in line for the USA.”

The world may just be getting acclimated to Stephen’s star power, but his girlfriend of eight years Tess McCracken, has always known he was special. 

And she is thrilled that her partner is finally getting his flowers—even if it’s kept him booked and busy.

“I'm really excited for all of it,” Tess told E! News earlier this month. “And at the end of the day, it’s definitely worth it.”