I did not have “bespectacled pommel horse gymnast” on my bingo card for this Olympics, but Stephen Nedoroscik has me absolutely captivated. And I’m not the only one.

When Nedoroscik walks up to his apparatus, takes off his glasses and hangs them on the chalk bowl, he squints awkwardly around, as if he suddenly realizes he is in an Olympic arena and is trying to get his bearings. And this, as it turns out, is somewhat true.

Nedoroscik, who recently graduated from Penn State University with a degree in electrical engineering and can solve a Rubik’s cube in ten seconds, has a rare eye condition that left him with no depth perception and an extreme sensitivity to light. He was  born with strabismus, a condition that affects eye muscles, causing the eyes not to line up properly and point in different directions.

Despite these hardships, he became a two-time bronze medalist and the only member of the U.S. men’s gymnastics team to win an individual medal. On the only event he does: the pommel horse. 

He has been described as a “unicorn” and “Clark Kent” by those following his progress during these Olympics. During the team competition, when the camera would pan to Stephen, he seemed to be…asleep? Even with his teammates killing it and the wild cheering of the crowds, he stayed in a calm, meditative place until it was his turn. He got up, took off his glasses, squinted around until he found the pommel horse…and performed a routine that engrossed the world and earned his team their first men’s’ gymnastics medal since 2008.

Clark Kent, indeed.

This transformation from a mild-mannered, glasses-wearing video game nerd to a powerful athlete defying gravity won millions of hearts, including mine. For most of my life I have been drawn to the underdog in any situation or story, and it made me wonder…what is it about the underdog that compels us? 

To look at it from a faith perspective, Jesus consistently sided with the underdog. In political and religious systems that have always, and continue to, favor the powerful, Jesus came to set a different precedent. In eating with tax collectors and prostitutes, showing love and grace when it was frowned upon, and expressing his anger with the religious establishment that tended to oppress rather than uplift, Jesus set the example that it is perhaps not in the expected places that we should expect to find life abundant. 

In what places and situations in your life do you feel like an underdog? Are you perhaps not the most well-spoken, good looking, smart, or wealthy person in the room? Are you anxious or scared of the space you may take up or the mistakes you may make? Do you have a cultural barrier that makes it difficult to be taken seriously or make a difference? 

Here’s something I’ve learned over the years…even the people who may seem the most confident and capable have their doubts. I think most everyone does it scared. I know I do, every single day. I am sure Stephen Nedoroscik never thought when he was a half-blind, cross-eyed kid that he would be standing on an Olympic podium in front of millions of people, but he worked hard and had people who believed he could do it. And eventually he believed he could do it…and he did.

Think about your own underdog story, or someone else’s. If you feel that you can’t do something, think about the kid who takes off his glasses and wins medals even though he literally has to feel his way around the pommel horse because he can’t see it. And if you are in a place of power, think about the underdogs you may be able to lift up.