Then & Now: Black Women Have Always Reigned Supreme In These Olympic Streets
The Paralympics showcase the best of the best athletes with physical disabilities. These athletes show the true grit, grind and determination of athleticism. The 2021 Olympics Sitting Volleyball competition features an up and coming athlete to keep an eye out for.
Nicky Nieves
Source: Harry How / Getty
Nicky Nieves is on her second go ‘round in the Paralympics and hopes to duplicate her success in the Tokyo Olympics. Teamusa.org lists her first appearance in the Rio Olympics 2016. Though she participated with the likes of Kari Miller and contributed to a Gold Medal win for Team USA she is still relatively new to the sitting sport. As a powerhouse in standing volleyball as a young athlete, Nieves has adjusted well.
The Afro-Puerto Rican Olympian is aware of her influence and wants “to use [her] platform for representation to show others that even if you don’t see yourself within your team or within an organization, don’t let that hinder you from being the best that you can possibly be.”
After spending most of her childhood in Queens, New York, Nieves’s mother relocated the family to Kissimmee, Florida, when she was 10 years old. As an adolescent Nieves was active in high school sports, played traditional volleyball and was eventually named Conference Player of the Year. Determined to continue playing volleyball once she graduated high school, Nieves sent game tapes to recruiters in an attempt to drum up interest in herself as a potential college athlete. She caught the eye of Queens College Division II coach Pascale Lubin. Nieves was offered a position to play for the women’s volleyball team at Queens College, where she caught the eye of Paralympic recruiters.
Nieves gives back to her community and has started Limitless People Inc, a non-profit organization that teaches young adults sitting volleyball. For Nieves this initiative is a calling: “I feel the need and want to create a life where I can share with others what has blessed my life immensely, volleyball.”
Kari Miller
Source: Harry How / Getty
Kari Miller, a U.S. Sergeant Veteran, is also a veteran paralympic gold medalist in sitting volleyball. Miller has been active in wheelchair sports since the early 2000’s. She scored her first Olympic win in Beijing in 2008.
Miller grew up in Washington D.C. and was active in multiple sports, including basketball and track before she began a career in the U.S. Military. Miller worked hard in the U.S. Military rising quickly in the ranks. In 1999, while preparing for officer training Miller was struck in a car accident requiring the amputation of both legs one above the knee and one below. The accident ended Miller’s military career forcing her to seek other options for her future.
After rehabilitation, Miller’s fire for sports returned when “she lost [a wheel chair basketball game] to a group of children.” Her competitive nature kicked in and she vowed to master the sport. After learning and training in the sport, Miller began competing in wheelchair basketball at the University of illinois. She faced a disadvantage in the game because of her height, leading her to eventually switch to sitting volleyball.
Miller has been winning ever since. Her medals are extensive, her performance has earned her medals in three separate Olympic competitions. Teamusa.org lists Gold Medal Rio de Janeiro (2016), Silver Medal London (2012) and Silver Medal Beijing Paralympic Games (2008).
Miller will join Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics playing the position of Libero. In 2010, Miller was ranked the number one Libero in the world. Miller spends her off time volunteering for the Paralympic Military Program at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Miller knows that her experience as a veteran and athlete can prove useful to wounded veterans.
Miller was awarded the Hero of Fortune award in 2014 recognizing her work with the Wounded Warriors Program.
