Nicky Nieves and Steve Serio will be leading the way at the 2024 Paralympics opening ceremony!
Team USA announced on Friday, Aug. 23 that Serio, a wheelchair basketball player, and Nieves, a sitting volleyball athlete, will be the United States’ flagbearers when the Paralympics kick off in Paris on Aug. 28.
In a sweet video shared on Instagram by Team USA, cameras caught the moment when Nieves, 34, and her sitting volleyball teammates learned of her selection as flag bearer. The group quickly broke out into “Nicky!” chants to celebrate the honor.
The Paralympians reacted to the news in sweet videos shared by Team USA and on Instagram Stories. “Crying in the club,” Nieves wrote in a post sharing the news.
“United and honored,” Serio, 36, wrote in his Instagram Story.
Nieves — who won gold with her teammates at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016 — was born without her left hand for reasons doctors never figured out, according to her Team USA biography. She learned to play piano at age six and has been playing sports since grade school.
Serio competed in his first Games in Beijing in 2008 and plans to end his Paralympic career in Paris. He has two gold medals and one bronze over five Paralympics.
According to his Team USA biography, Serio is considered an incomplete paraplegic and was only 11 months old when he had surgery to remove a spinal tumor. He started playing wheelchair basketball as a sophomore in high school and played professionally in Germany for five years.
In a video shared by Team USA on Instagram, Serio learned of his selection and received his Ralph Lauren blazer for the ceremony during a meeting with his teammates. “Don’t get it dirty,” he joked as he tried on the blazer.
The 2024 Paris Paralympic Games begin with the opening ceremony on Aug. 28 and run through Sept. 8’s closing ceremony.
