Cristina Gonçalves

Cristina Gonçalves (born 15 September 1977) is a Portuguese boccia player who has cerebral palsy, She has competed for her country and won medals at several Summer Paralympics.

Cristina Gonçalves
Personal information
National teamPortugal
Born (1977-09-15) September 15, 1977
Lisbon, Portugal
Sport
CountryPortugal
SportBoccia
DisabilityCerebral palsy
Disability classBC2
TeamAPCL
Coached byRosa Carvalho
Medal record
Boccia
Representing  Portugal
Paralympic Games
2004 AthensTeam BC1-2
2008 BeijingTeam BC1-2
2016 Rio de JaneiroTeam BC1-2
Updated on 25 November 2017.

Career

Cristina Gonçalves was born on 15 September 1977 in Lisbon, Portugal.[1] When she was 11 months old, she contracted meningitis resulting in cerebral palsy.[2] She began competing nationally in boccia in 1998,[1] having taken up the sport at the age of 14. She is classified as BC2.[2] Gonçalves' first overall victory came in 2003 in the boccia World Cup in New Zealand.[3]

She attended her first Summer Paralympics in 2004 in Athens, Greece, where she won a gold medal as part of the team BC1-2 competition with a victory over New Zealand.[4] She continued to compete at successive Paralympic Games,[5] where she won a silver medal in the team event at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China, but failed to win a medal at the 2012 Games in London, England.[6]

At the 2016 Summer Paralympics, she was the only female player on the mixed boccia team. They qualified out of the group stage following a loss to Argentina followed by victories over Slovakia and Brazil. They were beaten 8-5 by Japan in the semi-final,[7] resulting in a rematch against Argentina in the bronze medal match. Despite the earlier 1-7 loss, they defeated Argentina 6-2 to win the bronze medal.[8]

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References
  1. "Cristina Gonçalves". Comite Paralimico Portugal. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  2. "Cristina, a rainha das medalhas" (in Portuguese). Santa Casa. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  3. "Cristina Gonçalves, boccia". Expresso. 25 November 2006. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  4. "Equipa portuguesa de boccia conquista ouro nos Paralímpicos". Publico (in Portuguese). 28 September 2004. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  5. "Atletas de boccia são os primeiros portugueses a competir nos Paralímpicos". Publico (in Portuguese). 6 September 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  6. "João Paulo Fernandes admite erros da equipa de boccia". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 4 September 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  7. "Paralímpicos'2016: bronze no boccia foi "fruto do trabalho de toda a equipa"". O Jogo (in Portuguese). 12 September 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  8. "Paralímpicos'2016: bronze para Portugal no boccia". O Jogo (in Portuguese). 12 September 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
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