Nicky Nieves considered the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris as her redemption. She missed the 2020/21 Games in Tokyo due to COVID, but this year’s games were a truly amazing experience. It began with being selected as the U.S. flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony and finished with winning a gold medal with the U.S. women’s sitting volleyball team.
“I felt so honored to be the flag bearer,” said Nieves, who also won gold at the 2016 Paralympics. “They trusted me to represent Team USA. Everything I’ve been through and everything I’ve accomplished thus far — it was incredible and amazing. I almost feel a little without words about it because I don’t think that words would be justice about how I was feeling carrying that flag.”
Sitting volleyball had matches from the start to the finish of the games, so Nieves and her teammates remained focused on their goal, a third consecutive gold medal. “Whenever we weren’t playing, we were literally lifting and training,” she said. “It was one game at a time, and then at the end, for me personally, I just felt my redemption was complete. It all came together so perfectly, and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.”
The genuine enthusiasm for these Paralympic Games was palpable. “It definitely felt like we finally were equal in terms of coverage, social media, and press,” said Nieves. “All of our games streamed on Peacock” (replay videos remain available).
Nieves was born in the Bronx and grew up in Queens. She moved to Florida but after high school, felt a yearning to return to NYC, so she decided to attend Queens College, where she played volleyball for a year. “Then I found sitting volleyball and I never looked back,” said Nieves.
Gold medal accomplished, Nieves returned home to her master’s degree program in clinical mental health. She is currently doing an internship. If everything goes according to plan, she’ll be done in December so she can become a licensed therapist.
“The population I want to work with is children in trauma,” she said. “The focus right now is finishing that degree and starting my therapy career.”
Los Angeles 2028 is also in the picture. The U.S. sitting women’s volleyball team has a training camp in November, which she plans to attend.