Patty Cisneros ’00, Prevo’s, M.Ed., life changed forever at the young age of 18. During her freshman year at Indiana University, Cisneros Prevo acquired a spinal cord injury in a car accident and became disabled. Navigating this significant life change while still yearning for the traditional college experience, she decided to move closer to her parents in Lake Station, Indiana, and transfer to Valpo. She says, “My experience at Valpo was really wonderful. I was learning to live life with a disability, and my time on campus was my first opportunity to do that. I had such great support at Valpo. Being there was so transformative for me.”
A year before transferring to Valpo, Patty was introduced to a sport that would change her life once again. Her physical therapist noticed her athletic nature and recommended that she meet with someone who played wheelchair basketball. After their meeting, she quickly got involved and started playing with the women’s team in Chicago. Cisneros Prevo says, “It was a natural transition for me. I was an athlete prior to my injury, so I was really excited about the opportunity to compete again.”
In 1999, Cisneros Prevo made her first appearance on the U.S. women’s wheelchair basketball team, competing in her first Paralympic Games in Sydney in 2000. In 2001, she began her graduate work at the University of Illinois. She competed on their wheelchair basketball team during her coursework, helping to lead the team to back-to-back national championship titles. After completing her master of education, Cisneros Prevo moved to Wisconsin to train with a men’s team and set her sights on the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens. Cisneros Prevo explains, “Our team in 2000 was very young and inexperienced, and we made a lot of mistakes. We ended up placing fifth, which was a huge disappointment because we were favored to win a medal.” She adds, “For the Athens games in 2004, my teammates and I refocused and decided we were not going to lose again.”
The 2004 team’s efforts paid off, and they won gold for the first time in 16 years. Patty returned as co-captain with a few of her teammates for the 2008 Beijing Games, becoming the first team to win back-to-back gold medals for the program. Earlier this year, it was announced that the 2004 team would be inducted as members of the Class of 2025 into the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame. Established in 1979, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame honors the greatest American athletes in the modern Games. Its inaugural 1983 class featured legends like Muhammad Ali, Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph, and the iconic 1980 “Miracle on Ice” hockey team.
Cisneros Prevo and her teammates have been in contact since the news and are thrilled with the induction. Patty says, “I never thought that this would be an option for us. For years, the Paralympic movement was kept at a distance from the Olympic Games, with a lot of resistance from the U.S. Olympic Committee. So many disabled people fought for years for that parity, so the fact that we are being inducted into the Hall of Fame is truly incredible.” She adds, “I feel honored, blessed, excited, and so grateful. It makes me so happy.”
The 2004 Women’s Wheelchair Basketball team will be among the 18th class inducted in the Hall of Fame’s history. Other inductees this year include Serena Williams, Gabby Douglas, Allyson Felix, and more. The induction ceremony is set for July 12, 2025, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Patty Cisernos Prevo is currently retired from playing and coaching wheelchair basketball. She is the author of Tenacious: Fifteen Adventures Alongside Disabled Athletes, which highlights 15 disabled individuals and their significant life and athletic accomplishments. Cisneros Prevo has two new books scheduled for release in 2026: All of Apolonia in the spring and Elliot’s Chair in the fall. To read more about Patty, please visit her website at pattycisnerosprevo.com.
