Photo: Sam Cerio/Instagram
Auburn gymnast Samantha Cerio may have broken both knees, but that’s didn’t stop her from walking down the aisle to get married!
The 22-year-old graduate was able to enjoy her wedding on her feet only two months afterbreaking both of her kneesand tearing ligaments in both knees during the NCAA Regional Semifinal in Baton Rouge. The horrific injury, which happened during Cerio’s first floor exercise pass in the tournament, ended her gymnastics career.
But the setback hasn’t discouraged the athlete and aerospace engineering major, who alreadylined up a jobin Seattle at Boeing before she graduated in May.
It also didn’t discourage Cerio from enjoying her wedding to Trey Wood. The couple was married at Alabama’s Fairhope Yacht Club earlier this week, and Cerio shared photos from their outdoor wedding — including a shot of her walking down the aisle.
“I got the Wood⚓️💍 #GettingTheW #ShipFaced,” she cheekily captioned the series of photos onInstagram.
Samantha Cerio, Trey Wood.
Walking down the aisle had been a goal the sports star set for herself as soon as she awoke from surgery.
“She wants to walk down the aisle and get married, and we’re hoping she can do that,” Cerio’s coach, Jeff Graba, toldNBC News.
“I’m really excited just because I have so many positive things coming up,” CeriotoldTodayafter her accident. “I mean, this is a small setback, but it’s …just another thing to get through. … Even though that was my last gymnastics meet, everything we do, everything I have done and trained for … has always been for my team. Just knowing that I have their support behind me.”
She also urged people not to tag her in the viral video of her injury.
“Going through the pain and seeing my knees bent unnaturally in real life was horrible enough, but to continue to see it from videos/pictures because some people feel entitled to repost it is not okay,”she said on Twitter. “I have family, friends and teammates who do not need to see me getting injured over and over again.”
“My pain is not your entertainment,” she added.
Trey Wood, Samantha Cerio.Sam Cerio/Instagram
Samantha Cerio.Tony Gutierrez/AP/REX/Shutterstock
Cerio kept a positive attitude, even days after her injuries.
“Friday night was my final night as a gymnast. After 18 years I am hanging up my grips and leaving the chalk behind,” she said in apostshortly after the accident. “I couldn’t be prouder of the person that gymnastics has made me to become.”
“It’s taught me hard work, humility, integrity, and dedication, just to name a few. It’s given me challenges and roadblocks that I would have never imagined that has tested who I am as a person. It may not have ended the way I had planned, but nothing ever goes as planned.”
source: people.com
