It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to not just compete in the Paralympics, but to become part of the first wheelchair basketball team to achieve three consecutive gold medals in the Paris Paralympic Games, said Fabian Romo, Paralympic gold medalist and UTA alumnus.
“[I] couldn't be more proud to be their teammate, to be part of that team that made history with them,” Romo said. “Super grateful that I could be part of that whole team, to be able to finish [the veterans’ careers] off on such a high note.”
Throughout the past two weeks, Movin’ Mavs players hosted Paralympic watch parties to cheer on the wheelchair basketball teams at Trinity Hall and the Maverick Activities Center.
With each U.S. bucket made, cheers grew louder as the players held their breath between every point, glancing at each other in excitement. When the U.S. team secured the Paralympic gold, they couldn’t contain themselves as “USA” chants filled the room.
“That’s history-making,” kinesiology junior Ke’Sean Paire said.
Team USA’s men’s wheelchair basketball cemented themselves in history defeating Great Britain, 73-69, during the 2024 Paris Paralympics, becoming the first men’s wheelchair basketball team to win three consecutive gold medals at the Paralympics.
Romo said he’s known a lot of players in the Movin’ Mavs community since they were kids. He said he feels like a big brother to them, and it means a lot to have their support and to have them in his corner.
“I've always done what I can, not just for them, but for the [Movin’ Mavs],” Romo said. “Ever since I graduated, I would always come back and stick around because this is a family. I'm always going to support the program and whoever comes in, that's family.”
The men’s team won all three games in group play, their quarterfinals and semifinal matchups by an average of 36 points, becoming the most successful men’s wheelchair team of all time.
“Knowing that their hard work paid off, and I was able to watch their hard work, hopefully I can apply some of their knowledge of the game and how their hard work came to play,” Movin’ Mavs player Carrington Marendes said.
The USA women’s wheelchair basketball team secured silver after falling to the Netherlands, 63-49, in the finals.
Paire said watching and supporting the Paralympics as a team motivates players to keep working hard to improve every day. He’s able to look back on the film to see what the U.S. teams did, implementing it in practice.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “Just being able to watch in real time is an amazing feeling. Especially, when you know people that’s on the team you either played against or played with, it’s just like, ‘Wow.’”
Marendes said he didn’t register the feat Team USA would accomplish until the announcers continuously repeated the chance for its third consecutive gold.
“That really speaks about the consistency and about the longevity of the team. They’ve been together for so long doing the same thing,” Marendes said.
Former UTA players like Romo and Paul Schulte, with assistant coach Mike Paye, won on an international stage after competing on university courts.
After winning gold, Romo embraced his parents, thanking them for their sacrifices from driving him to practices to watching him win a gold medal in Paris.
“They’ve been my biggest fans,” Romo said. “They’ve seen all the losses and all the wins. So it’s always been them behind me, and they just couldn’t be more proud of me.”
Watching the men’s team claim gold was a bittersweet feeling, Marendes said. It’s been his goal to make the U.S. team, and being around his teammates created a fun atmosphere when cheering the team on and watching UTA alumni achieve their dreams.
“In the inside, I’m feeling a lot more excited about it, because I want to be there one day,” Marendes said. “It’s a really great feeling.”
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