by PARIS — Success has followed Steve Serio throughout his U.S. Paralympic career. He has won two gold medals and a bronze in his four Paralympic Games playing for the wheelchair basketball team.
Serio plans to wrap up his Paralympic career in Paris. He wasn’t shy about announcing the news. He helped the Americans advance to the semifinals, one win away from the gold medal final. But it’s not the medals or the victories that Serio will remember, it’ll be the little details.
Spending time with teammates in the cafeteria, enjoying the Paralympic Village, having fun on the team buses and building relationships with teammates are all things he will miss once his Paralympic career is over.
“I actually took the time to appreciate the moment a little more than I have in the past,” Serio said.
Serio’s final Paralympics started well. The Americans solidified their place as the top team in Group B after going undefeated. They continued their momentum with a quarterfinal victory on Wednesday.
Serio scored 13 points on 43 percent shooting in the United States’ 82-47 win over France on Tuesday night. It was Serio’s younger counterparts who stole the show at the Paris Games.
Jake Williams led the way Tuesday with 23 points, followed by Brian Bell with 20. Both are two-time Paralympians, flanked by rookies like Jorge Salazar who scored 13 points. The future looks bright for the U.S. wheelchair basketball program, and it’s an exciting one for Serio.
“I’m very jealous that these athletes have the chance to compete in Los Angeles,” Serio said. “I would love to compete on my home soil, but it’s an honor to share the field with them and watch them grow during these Paralympic Games.”
Enjoy a host country crowd
Four-time U.S. Paralympian Trevon Jenifer got goosebumps just talking about the French crowd Tuesday. Despite a landslide victory for the Americans, the crowd remained loud and lively for the entire 40 minutes of the game.
“It makes you vibrate,” Jenifer said. “In the four tournaments I’ve played, I’ve had the opportunity to play in each country, at their home, and it’s the best, the best feeling ever.”
It was an environment that rivaled the best that Jenifer and Serio played in.
“When you’re in an environment like that, you have to feed off it,” Serio said. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I want to thank the people of Paris for coming out to support the Paralympic athletes. That arena was one of the most fun I’ve ever played in.”
The United States jumped out to a 6-0 lead early in the game, giving them some room for error. The French responded with a 7-0 run early in the second quarter, igniting an already raucous crowd and forcing an American timeout at 6:55. From there, the Americans dominated the rest of the game.
Serio called Tuesday a coming-out party for world sport, highlighting the strangeness of the Tokyo Games without an audience. This coming-out party for sport is also the coming-out party for his last Games, with his loved ones in the stands.
“Each [Paralympic] “Every game has its own personality,” Serio said. “It’s an opportunity for friends and family to be in the stands and share that moment with us, and we don’t take it for granted. It was a real honor to play in front of them.”
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: U.S. wheelchair basketball team beats France at Paralympics
