Vanessa Cristina de Souza

Vanessa Cristina de Souza (born 20 November 1989)[1] is a Brazilian wheelchair racer, who came fourth at the 2021 Boston and Chicago Marathons. She competed in multiple events at the delayed 2020 Summer Paralympics.

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Cristina and the second or paternal family name is de Souza.
Vanessa Cristina de Souza
de Souza racing in the 2018 Boston Marathon
Personal information
Born (1989-11-20) 20 November 1989
Praia Grande, São Paulo, Brazil
Sport
SportWheelchair racing
Disability classT54
ClubTime Naurú
Achievements and titles
Paralympic finals2020

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.[2]

Career

De Souza started competing in wheelchair racing eight months after her motorcycle accident.[2] She trains at Time Naurú.[3] In Brazil, de Souza has won the Saint Silvester Road Race on three occasions, most recently in 2019.[4] She won the 2017 event despite completing the last 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) with a flat tyre.[5] She has also won the São Paulo Half Marathon,[2] and is the national record holder in the marathon, half marathon and 10 km events.[6]

In 2018, she won the Lisbon Half Marathon in a photo finish with Margriet van den Broek; both racers were given the same time of 58:43.[7] She finished sixth and last of the finishers at the 2018 Boston Marathon.[1][8] In the same year, she finished fourth in the Oita International Wheelchair Marathon, in a personal best time of 1:45:19.[1] She came fourth at the 2019 Singapore Marathon.[9] De Souza won the 2020 Los Angeles Marathon in a time of 1:59:51.[10] In the same year, she won the Seville Marathon, in a time of 1:40:27.[11] Her time was a Brazilian national record,[12] although she was 37 seconds outside the qualification time for the 2020 Summer Paralympics.[2] She was named the Americas Paralympic Committee Athlete of the Month for February 2020.[11][13] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she was unable to compete at the 2020 London Marathon[2] or 2021 Grandma's Marathon.[14]

De Souza competed in the 5,000 metres T54 at the delayed 2020 Summer Paralympics. She finished eighth in the final in a personal best time of 11:18:02.[15] She also came eighth in the 1,500 metres T54,[16] 12th in the marathon T54 event, racing with a back injury,[17] and was part of the Brazilian team that came last in their heat of the mixed 4 × 100 metres relay.[18] Later in the year, she came seventh at the 2021 London Marathon,[19] fourth at the Boston[20] and Chicago Marathons[21] and fifth at the New York City Marathon.[22]

References
  1. "WORLD PARA ATHLETICS MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIP" (PDF). London Marathon. 2019. p. 72. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  2. ""Santos mudou minha vida", diz paratleta de olho em Tóquio" (in Portuguese). Santos Government. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  3. "Naurú". Time Naurú. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  4. "Vanessa Cristina é campeã entre os cadeirantes da 95ª Corrida de São Silvestre". GloboNews (in Portuguese). 1 January 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  5. "Leonardo de Melo e Vanessa de Souza ganham São Silvestre na categoria cadeirante". Gazeta Sportiva (in Portuguese). 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  6. "Vanessa Cristina" (in Portuguese). Nauru. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  7. "Stormy weather – EDP Lisbon Half Marathon – Sun 11 March 2018". German Road Races. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  8. "The Top 10 Finishers At The 2018 Boston Marathon". Women's Running. 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  9. "Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon marks a new chapter in sporting history with successful First Evening Race". Outdoor Sports Wire. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  10. "These are the winners of the 2020 Los Angeles Marathon". CNN. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  11. "Wheelchair racer Cristina de Souza named APC Athlete of Month for February". Inside the Biz. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  12. "Paratleta de Santos bate vence a Maratona de Sevilha e bate recorde". Boq News (in Portuguese). 25 February 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  13. "Vanessa Cristina de Souza named Americas 'Athlete of the Month'". International Paralympic Committee. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  14. "Grandma's Marathon notebook: Top wheelchair racers denied entry into United States". Duluth News Tribune. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  15. "Vanessa Cristina de Souza fica em 8º nos 5000m da classe T54 na Paralímpiada". Olimpíada Todo Dia (in Portuguese). 28 August 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  16. "Final results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  17. "Brazil closes participation in Paralympics in seventh place in medal tally". Sprout Wired. 5 September 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  18. "Heat 1 results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  19. "Leaderboard: Wheelchair T53/T54". London Marathon. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  20. "Results". Boston Marathon. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  21. "2021 Chicago Marathon". Chicago Marathon. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  22. "TCS New York City Marathon 2021: Wheelchair Women". New York Road Runners. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
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