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Auburn gymnast Sam Cerio walks down the aisle at her wedding 2 months after dislocating both knees

Auburn's Samantha Cerio smiles and signals to the crowd before competing on the uneven parallel bars during the NCAA college women's gymnastics championships Friday, April 14, 2017, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Auburn's Samantha Cerio walked down the aisle at her wedding this month. (AP)

The wedding photos set to grace Sam Cerio’s mantel will mean more than most. The Auburn gymnast reached her singular goal and walked down the aisle without assistance after dislocating both knees and tearing multiple ligaments during her final performance in April.

Auburn gymnast walks aisle on own

Cerio walked across the stage with crutches last month to accept her degree in aerospace engineering. It was almost exactly one month after the April 5 injury at the NCAA regional semifinals, after which Cerio stayed positive on her Instagram account.

Her weekend wedding was two months after the injury and she was able to walk without any crutches.

She told USA Today Sports knowing 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.” Her husband, naval officer Trey Wood, was “holding back tears,” and it was a “wow moment” for the guests, Cerio told USA Today Sports.

Cerio begins new career chapter

The video of Cerio’s injuries went viral in April and she had surgery that was an “extreme success,” coach Jeff Graba said. She later announced her retirement from the sport and took to Twitter to ask people to stop posting the video, saying “my pain is not your entertainment.

Auburn moved on in the postseason and performed with Cerio in mind. The Tigers finished the season sixth at the SEC championship, second at the NCAA Regional and fourth at the NCAA Regional final.

According to USA Today Sports, Cerio will begin a job as a structural design analysis engineer at Boeing.

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