Steve Serio

(Redirected from Steven Serio)

Steven Dillon Serio (born September 8, 1987) is a wheelchair basketball player. As a co-captain of the USA Men's National Wheelchair Basketball Team, he led the American men to their first Paralympic gold medal since 1988 at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games[1] and defended the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.[2] He currently plays for the New York Rolling Knicks in the NWBA Championship Division.[3]

Steve Serio
Serio in 2011
Personal information
Full nameSteven Dillon Serio
NicknameSteve
Nationality United States
Born (1987-09-08) September 8, 1987 (age 37)
Mineola, New York, U.S.
Height5 ft 6 in (168 cm) (2011)
Weight180 lb (82 kg) (2011)
Sport
Country United States
SportWheelchair Basketball
College teamUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
TeamBriantea 84
Turned pro2010
Medal record
Men's wheelchair basketball
Representing  United States
Paralympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London Team
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Team
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Team
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Dubai Team
Silver medal – second place 2006 Amsterdam Team
Silver medal – second place 2014 Incheon Team
Silver medal – second place 2018 Hamburg Team
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Birmingham Team
Parapan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2023 Santiago Team

Biography

edit

Serio grew up in Westbury, New York and graduated from Carle Place High School in 2005. When he was 11 months old, he had surgery to remove a spinal tumor, resulting in the compression of his spinal cord. Consequently, he was left paralyzed and is classified as an incomplete paraplegic.[4]

Serio began his wheelchair basketball career as a sophomore in high school with the Long Island Lightning, the only competitive junior wheelchair basketball team in New York State.[5] He became a tremendous asset to this team, eventually leading to its first National Championship in 2005. Serio himself was named the tournament's Most Valued Player.[6] That same year, Serio played on a USA U-23 Team participating at the Australian Junior National Games for the Disabled in Sydney.[6]

Serio also played point guard for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was named a 2nd Team's All-American in both the 2005–6 and 2006–7 seasons at Illinois.[7] At the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament held at Oklahoma State University on March 15, 2008, Serio led the Illinois to a NIWBA Championship over the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.[8] Serio took home the Championship Game Player of the Game, NWBA Tournament MVP, and the NWBA 31st NIWBT Player of the Year.[9] Serio graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2010 with a degree in kinesiology.

He also plays on the U.S. Paralympics Men's Wheelchair Basketball Team, which came in second place at the World Championships in Amsterdam in the summer of 2006.[10] In the summer of 2007, the U.S. National Team won a gold medal at the Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Serio made his Paralympic debut with the U.S. National Team in 2008 in Beijing.[11] The team finished in fourth place, just missing a medal. Since that disappointing Paralympics, the U.S. National Team has taken the gold medal at the 2009 America's Cup in Richmond, Canada[12] and finished third at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Birmingham, England.[13]

Serio is a co-captain of the USA Men's National Wheelchair Basketball Team. He led the American men to their first Paralympic gold medal since 1988 at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games.[1] and defended the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.[2]

Serio has lived in Germany and played for RSV Lahn-Dill. His contract was extended through the 2016 season.[14] He currently plays for the New York Rolling Knicks in the NWBA Championship Division.[3]

Along with sitting volleyball player Nicky Nieves, Serio served as one of two flag bearers for Team USA at the 2024 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony in Paris.[15]

Major achievements

edit

Juniors

edit
  • 2005: First place - Junior National Wheelchair Basketball Championships
  • 2005: Tournament MVP - Junior National Wheelchair Basketball Championships
  • 2005: Gold medal - World Junior Basketball Championships

Intercollegiate

edit
  • 2008: National Champion - U.S. Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball
  • 2008: MVP - NWBA College Division

US National Team

edit

Professional

edit
  • 2011: German DRS Cup Champion
  • 2011: German Championship
  • 2011: IWBF Champions League Silver Medal
  • 2012: German DRS Cup Champion
  • 2012: German Championship
  • 2021: IWBF Champions Cup Champion[16]

Notes

edit
  1. ^ a b "Westbury's Serio helps USA to gold medal". newsday.com. September 18, 2016. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "USA retain men's wheelchair basketball Paralympic title after dramatic win over Japan". Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Who will rule the Rollstuhl this year?". FIBA.basketball.
  4. ^ "U.S. Paralympic Athlete Biography". usolympicteam.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
  5. ^ "United States Olympic Committee Article 3/20/06". usoc.org. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved July 6, 2007.
  6. ^ a b "USOC Athlete Spotlight: Steve Serio". usoc.org. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved July 6, 2007.
  7. ^ "Past NIWBA All-American Teams". students.uww.edu. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007.
  8. ^ "Fighting Illini Men's Wheelchair Basketball Page". disability.uiuc.edu. Archived from the original on February 21, 2007.
  9. ^ "Daily Illini Newspaper Article 3/24/08". dailyillini.com.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "2006 U.S. Paralympics Men's Wheelchair Basketball Team Defeated by Canada in IWBF Gold Cup Final". usoc.org. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved July 6, 2007.
  11. ^ "Newsfeed". usocpressbox.org.[dead link]
  12. ^ "USA Wins Gold". nwba.org. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  13. ^ "Day Ten - Finals - British Wheelchair Basketball". gbwba.org.uk. Archived from the original on July 19, 2010. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  14. ^ die.interaktiven. "Details - RSV Lahn-Dill". rsvlahndill.de.
  15. ^ "Team USA's Paralympic Games flag bearers have been revealed". TODAY.com. August 23, 2024. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  16. ^ "Ascended to the European throne for the seventh time". rsvlahndill.de.
edit