Westbury native Steve Serio is leaving his mark on history. Serio recently won an ESPY award for Best Male Athlete with a Disability at the 25th Annual ESPY awards, the first time a wheelchair basketball athlete has won the award. This was Serio’s first nomination.
According to the National Wheelchair Basketball Association, Serio was nominated for the prestigious award after leading Team USA to a gold medal at the Rio Paralympics in 2016. Last summer’s games were Serio’s third appearance in the Paralympics and his first gold medal.
“It was truly humbling to win the award for best male athlete with a disability at the 2017 ESPYs,” said Serio, who thanked his family, friends, teammates and coaches from Rio. “This award is a reflection of the accomplishments we all shared together at the 2016 Paralympic games and like the gold, we won this award together.”
Serio’s journey as a wheelchair basketball player began as a sophomore at Carle Place High School, when he joined the Long Island Lightning. He then went onto the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign on a full athletic scholarship, helping to lead his team to two national championships. After graduating with a degree in kinesiology in 2010, he joined German club team RSV Lahn Dill.
This summer, he’s playing on Team USA and will be heading down to Kali, Columbia, at the end of August for a competition. And another gold might just be on the horizon.
“Tokyo is only three years away,” he said.
