Cristina Gonçalves (born 15 September 1977) is a Portuguese boccia player who has

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

, She has competed for her country and won medals at several

Summer Paralympics The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral ...

Career

Cristina Gonçalves was born on 15 September 1977 in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. When she was 11 months old, she contracted

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

resulting in

. She began competing nationally in boccia in 1998, having taken up the sport at the age of 14. She is classified as BC2. Gonçalves' first overall victory came in 2003 in the boccia World Cup in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. She attended her first

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, where she won a gold medal as part of the team BC1-2 competition with a victory over

. She continued to compete at successive Paralympic Games, where she won a silver medal in the

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

event at the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China, but failed to win a medal at the 2012 Games in London, England. At the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

, 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, 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goncalves, Cristina Living people 1977 births People from Lisbon Sportspeople with cerebral palsy Paralympic athletes for Portugal Boccia players at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Boccia players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Boccia players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Boccia players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Portugal Paralympic silver medalists for Portugal Paralympic bronze medalists for Portugal Paralympic medalists in boccia Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics