Vanessa Cristina de Souza (born 20 November 1989) is a Brazilian

wheelchair racer Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, amputees, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and partially sighted (when combined with another ...

, who came fourth at the 2021 Boston and Chicago Marathons. She competed in multiple events at the delayed

2020 Summer Paralympics 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 Paralym ...

Personal life

De Souza is from Praia Grande, São Paulo, Brazil. At the age of 24, de Souza was involved in a motorcycle accident, and had her left leg amputated.

Career

De Souza started competing in wheelchair racing eight months after her motorcycle accident. She trains at . In Brazil, de Souza has won the

Saint Silvester Road Race The Saint Silvester Road Race ( pt, Corrida Internacional de São Silvestre) is a long-distance running event, the oldest and most prestigious street race in Brazil. Regarded as the main international event in Latin American athletics, the Brazi ...

on three occasions, most recently in 2019. She won the 2017 event despite completing the last with a flat tyre. She has also won the São Paulo Half Marathon, and is the national record holder in the marathon, half marathon and 10 km events. In 2018, she won the

Lisbon Half Marathon EDP Lisbon Half Marathon is an annual international half marathon competition which is contested every March in Lisbon, Portugal. It carries IAAF Gold Label Road Race status. The men's course record of 57:31 was set by Jacob Kiplimo in 2021, whi ...

in a photo finish with

Margriet van den Broek Margriet van den Broek (born 30 March 1974) is a Dutch wheelchair racer. She won the gold medal in the women's 800 metres T54 event at the 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships held in Berlin, Germany. She also won the silver medal ...

; both racers were given the same time of 58:43. She finished sixth and last of the finishers at the

2018 Boston Marathon The 2018 Boston Marathon was the 122nd running of the Boston Athletic Association's Boston Marathon. It took place on Monday, April 16, 2018 (Patriots' Day in Massachusetts). The race was held in unusually cold weather at with rain. Yuki Kawauchi ...

. In the same year, she finished fourth in the Oita International Wheelchair Marathon, in a

personal best A personal record or personal best (abbreviated to PR or PB) is an individual's best performance in a given sporting discipline. It is most commonly found in athletic sports, such as track and field, other forms of running, swimming and weightlift ...

time of 1:45:19. She came fourth at the 2019

Singapore Marathon The Singapore Marathon is an annual international marathon race which is held on the first Sunday of December in the city of Singapore. It is a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race. History The first competitive marathon in Singapore was held o ...

. De Souza won the 2020 Los Angeles Marathon in a time of 1:59:51. In the same year, she won the Seville Marathon, in a time of 1:40:27. Her time was a Brazilian national record, although she was 37 seconds outside the qualification time for the

. She was named the

Americas Paralympic Committee Americas Paralympic Committee (acronym: APC; es, Comité Paralímpico de Américas ; pt, Comitê Paralímpico das Américas ; ca, Comitè Paralímpic de les Amèriques ; eo, Komitato Paralimpika de la Amerikoj ; french: Comité Paralympique des ...

Athlete of the Month for February 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she was unable to compete at the

2020 London Marathon The 2020 London Marathon was the 40th running of the annual marathon race in London, United Kingdom, which took place on 4 October 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was postponed from 26 April and only allowed elite participants; th ...

or 2021

Grandma's Marathon Grandma's Marathon is an annual road race held each June in Duluth, Minnesota, in the United States. The course runs point-to-point from the city of Two Harbors on Scenic Route 61 and continues along Lake Superior into the city of Duluth. The ...

. De Souza competed in the 5,000 metres T54 at the delayed

. She finished eighth in the final in a personal best time of 11:18:02. She also came eighth in the 1,500 metres T54, 12th in the marathon T54 event, racing with a back injury, and was part of the Brazilian team that came last in their heat of the mixed 4 × 100 metres relay. Later in the year, she came seventh at the

2021 London Marathon The 2021 London Marathon was the 41st running of the annual London Marathon on 3 October 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was postponed from April until October to maximise the chances of a mass participation event. The elite even ...

, fourth at the Boston and Chicago Marathons and fifth at the New York City Marathon.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Souza, Vanessa Living people 1989 births Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Brazilian wheelchair racers Sportspeople from São Paulo (state) Paralympic wheelchair racers Female wheelchair racers 21st-century Brazilian sportswomen People from Praia Grande Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2023 Parapan American Games