College gymnast Samantha Cerio suffered catastrophic leg injuries that left her unable to walk for weeks. Just two months after she injured both legs, she achieved her goal of walking down the aisle at her wedding.
Samantha was completing a floor routine at the NCAA semifinals when she attempted a blind landing on a tumbling pass. She landed badly, and she ended up breaking both legs and tearing ligaments in both knees.
The injury ended her gymnastics career, which was heartbreaking enough. But Samantha was also due to get married in two months. She was determined to walk down the aisle without crutches or a walker.
"She wants to walk down the aisle and get married, and we're hoping she can do that," her coach, Jeff Graba, told NBC News, according to Today.
Amazingly, Samantha achieved her goal. On June 1, she married Trey Wood in Fairhope, Alabama — and she walked down the aisle on her own two feet.
Samantha Cerio recently graduated from Auburn University in Alabama. According to Insider, she was an aerospace engineering major and an accomplished gymnast.
In early April, Samantha suffered catastrophic injuries to both legs while competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Regional Semifinal in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The injuries were so gruesome that the video of her routine garnered national attention.
Samantha broke both legs and tore ligaments in both knees during her floor routine. The injury marked the end of her career as a gymnast.
"After 18 years I am hanging up my grips and leaving the chalk behind," she announced on Instagram.
"It may not have ended the way I had planned, but nothing ever goes as planned."
Just a week later, Samantha expressed one desire: to walk down the aisle at her wedding.
"She wants to walk down the aisle and get married, and we're hoping she can do that," her coach said.
Just two months later, Samantha fulfilled her goal. She married Trey Wood at the Fairhope Yacht Club in Fairhope, Alabama, and she walked down the aisle on her own two feet — no crutches, walker, or scooter in sight.
Knowing that she "was able to stand up on my own feet and able to walk around and walk down the aisle" made her wedding "a whole lot sweeter," Samantha told USA Today.
She added that she doubted any of her loved ones were surprised at her accomplishment. Still, watching her walk down the aisle was a "wow moment."
Meanwhile, Trey "was holding back tears."
"He’s like, 'I saw you walking down the aisle, and I tried to not cry.'"
After the ceremony, the newlyweds took to the dance floor for their first dance. It was more like a "sway," though, Samantha said.
The couple is going to take their honeymoon in Hawaii, and Samantha will start her job as a structural design analysis engineer at Boeing in July.
She graduated from Auburn on a high note despite her catastrophic injury.
"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," Samantha wrote after her retirement from gymnastics.
"It’s given me challenges and road blocks that I would have never imagined that has tested who I am as a person," she said.
"Thank you Auburn family for giving me a home and a chance to continue doing the sport that will always be my first love."
Congratulations, Samantha and Trey!
