Kissimmee volleyball player competes in Paralympics

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Nicky Nieves began her Paralympic journey by joining Team USA in 2011 and winning her first gold medal in the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. 

"I feel fortunate because so many people train for that moment, and they don’t make it to the games, don’t make it to the gold medal match, and so many people go home with the silver, and we went home with the gold and everyone we worked hard for all came to fruition in the end, and man it feels like a dream come true," Nieves said. 

Born with only one hand, the Kissimmee, Florida, native is making a difference both on and off the volleyball court.

"At first I was super reluctant because I did not want to do anything that made me seem, at that moment in time, less than. I just wanted to be seen as a regular athlete and finally, after a year, I gave it a shot and I loved it. I decided to make the switch from traditional volleyball to sitting volleyball," Nieves said.

In just one word, Nicky describes what it means to compete as an Afro-Latina athlete.

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"Representation. Everything around representation," Nieves said. 

With hopes of becoming an inspiration to other minority girls who are in the same position as her.

"I didn’t see much of myself growing up even in the volleyball world. You don’t see a lot of Afro-Latinas, Latina girls, Black girls. I was super fortunate having a team that was diverse, but when you go into different spaces, you don’t see it. When you start competing at higher levels, you don’t see it and many times you’re just the only one. So just showing others it’s possible you can occupy these spaces unapologetically and be yourself and who you are and showing you can be successful," Nieves said. 

Nieves was supposed to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, but three days beforehand, she became sick and was replaced on the roster.

"At the end of all of it, to just not go – devastating, literally felt like the death of something," she said. 

Now, healthier and stronger, Nieves is gearing up for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.

And even in the midst of practicing her bumps and blocks, this gold medalist has been able to start her own organization – "Limitless People." It is a platform to work with limb different children just like herself.

"It allows me to give something back that night, be the one percent that someone needed to be a little smarter, a little faster or open the door to sitting volleyball. Being realistic, a lot of people don’t know what Paralympics is and it takes that one person to open Pandora’s box, and they’re like this exists? So giving more people opportunity," Nieves said. 

Paving the way for like limbed minorities – one spike at a time.

"Don’t be afraid. Don’t shrink. That’s the best way for people to accept normalcy and know we’re not going anywhere. We are a part of the world," Nieves said. 

Nicky's success on the court has helped her grow awareness off of it. Including a partnership with Citi, who has proudly supported the journey of Paralympians like her, and is committed to growing Para sports on an international scale.

The Paris 2024 Paralympic games will take place over 12 days from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.