| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Steven Serio |
| Nickname(s) | Steve |
| Nationality | United States |
| Born | September 8, 1987 Mineola, New York |
| Residence | New York, NY |
| Height | 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) (2011) |
| Weight | 180 pounds (82 kg) (2011) |
| Sport | |
| Country | United States |
| Sport | Wheelchair Basketball |
| College/university team | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| Team | RSV Lahn-Dill |
| Turned pro | 2010 |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for United States | ||
| Men's wheelchair basketball | ||
| World Championship | ||
| Silver | 2006 Amsterdam | Team |
| Bronze | 2010 Birmingham | Team |
Steve Serio (born September 8, 1987) is a world-renowned wheelchair basketball player. When Steve was 11 months old, he had surgery to remove a spinal tumor which resulted in the compression of his spinal cord. Consequently, he was left paralyzed and is classified as an incomplete paraplegic.[1] He grew up in Westbury, New York and graduated from Carle Place High School in 2005.
Steve 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.[2] He was a tremendous asset to this team, eventually leading them to the team's first National Championship in 2005 where was named the tournament MVP.[3] In that same year, he played on a USA U-23 Team played at the Australian Junior National Games for the Disabled in Sydney.[3]
He played point guard for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Steve was named a 2nd Team All-American in both the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons at Illinois.[4] At the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament at Oklahoma State University on March 15, 2008, Steve led the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to a NIWBA Championship over the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.[5] Steve took home the Championship Game Player of the Game, NWBA Tournament MVP, and the NWBA 31st NIWBT Player of the Year in the process.[6]
Steve 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.[7] In the summer of 2007, the U.S. National Team won a gold medal at the Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Steve made his Paralympic debut with the U.S. National Team in 2008 in Beijing, China.[8] The team finished in fourth place, just missing a medal. Since the disappointing Paralympics, the U.S. National Team took the gold medal at the 2009 America's Cup in Richmond, Canada[9] and finished third at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Birmingham, England.[10]
He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2010, where he studied Personal Training.
He is currently living in Germany and playing for RSV Lahn-Dill. His contract runs through the 2012 season.[11]
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