Cátia Cristina da Silva Oliveira (born 12 June 1991) is a Brazilian Para table tennis player and former footballer. Cátia won a gold medal at the

2015 Parapan American Games The 2015 Parapan American Games, officially the V Parapan American Games and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 ParaPan-Am Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities, celebrated in the tradition of the Pa ...

and was selected for the

2016 Paralympic Games ) , 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 ...

in her home country. Cátia began playing table tennis in 2013 and developed quickly, winning a place on Brazil's national team in time for the 2015 Parapan American Games. In October 2018 she won a silver medal at the

World Para Table Tennis Championships The World Para Table Tennis Championships are the world championships for para table tennis where athletes with a disability compete. They are organised by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) on a four-year rotation with the Paralympic ...

in Slovenia. She was bereaved by the untimely death of her father during the tournament. Botucatu Futebol Clube signed Cátia as a promising footballer when she was 14 years old. In October 2007, teammate

Renata Costa Renata Aparecida da Costa (born 8 July 1986), commonly known as Renata Costa or Kóki, is a Brazilian football coach and former player, most recently an assistant coach with Iranduba. She represented the Brazil women's national football team a ...

was driving Cátia and Michele in her Opel Corsa when she crashed into another car at a level crossing. Michele and Renata suffered minor injuries, while Cátia, who was asleep in the back seat, suffered a spinal cord injury resulting in

paraplegia Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...

. Costa was fined $576 for driving without a

licence A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

. Cátia had been called up to the Brazil women's national under-17 football team on the day of the accident. In June 2021 she was one of the women as part of Brazil's table tennis team for the

2020 Paralympic Games The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralymp ...

which were delayed for a year due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The other athletes were

Bruna Costa Alexandre Bruna Costa Alexandre (born 29 March 1995) is a Brazilian people, Brazilian para table tennis player who is two-time World bronze medalist and Paralympic bronze medalist in both singles and teams events along with Danielle Rauen. Life Alexan ...

(class 10), Danielle Rauen (in class 9) and

Joyce Oliveira Joyce Fernanda de Oliveira (born 24 June 1990) is a Brazilian para table tennis player who competes in international table tennis competitions. She is a six-time Parapan American Games champion and a Pan American champion in singles and doubles, ...

(in class 4).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliveira, Catia 1991 births Brazilian female table tennis players Table tennis players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Table tennis players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic table tennis players for Brazil Living people Brazilian women's footballers Women's association football midfielders Footballers from São Paulo (state) Botucatu Futebol Clube players Table tennis players at the 2023 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2023 Parapan American Games 21st-century Brazilian sportswomen