Joe Berenyi
Baseball (1987-1989)
2012 London Paralympic Gold Medal Cyclist
Paralympic World Record holder in 3000-meter Individual Pursuit
2015 U.S. Olympic Committee’s Men’s Paralympic Athlete of the Year
Captured 20 U.S. Championships and seven World Para-cycling Championships
As a left-handed relief pitcher for Waubonsee’s baseball team in 1988 and 1989, Joe Berenyi made 15 appearances and posted a 1.50 earned-run-average his sophomore year. On more than a few occasions the southpaw threw a tough curveball. He also hit a few of them himself as a part-time outfielder, even smacking a school-record three doubles in a game against Rock Valley. So when life suddenly threw him a proverbial breaking ball in 1994, he was at least a little familiar with what he needed to do. After earning his Associate’s Degree in Business from Waubonsee, Berenyi began working in construction. In a life-altering accident, he lost his right arm, severely broke a leg and shattered his left kneecap, which had to be removed.
After the accident, he needed a wheelchair and a walker the first year, underwent multiple surgeries and was told he would have trouble walking again. Berenyi was down for a time, but not out. Fast forward 13 years to when the Aurora Central Catholic High School graduate returned to a former passion of his, cycling. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.
In just his third year of full-fledged competition, Berenyi made the U.S. Para-cycling team at the age of 43. With an unforgettable bushy beard, he burst onto the world stage by winning gold, silver and bronze medals at the 2012 Paralymic Games in London. Berenyi set a World Record in a qualifying race before grabbing gold in the 3000-meter Individual Pursuit. Shortly thereafter, he was among a group of distinguished Paralympic guests that visited the White House.
The following three years in Mexico, Italy and the Netherlands, Berenyi went on to earn four more gold medals and two silver at Union Cycliste Internationale Track World Championships. Overall he has captured 20 U.S. Championships and seven World Championships. The United States Olympic Committee named him the Men’s Paralympic Athlete of the Year for 2015, and Berenyi was nominated in 2015 and 2016 for an ESPY in the Best Male Athlete with a Disability category.
At last year’s Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Berenyi earned a silver medal in the 3000-meter Individual Pursuit, crossing the finish line just a second behind the 24-year old gold medalist. He competed in four other events as well, finishing in the top-10 in each and missing the medal stand by only a second in two of those events.
Along the way, there has been a plethora of challenges, sacrifices, hard work, and memorable and joyful moments. The Oswego resident is grateful to have been able to share it all with his wife Jill and their three daughters Syd, Gwen and Tatum. “I raise my daughters by example — there’s no quitting,” says Berenyi of life’s curveballs. Nowadays, the only curves Berenyi deals with are on the cycling track. And those he handles like an experienced professional.