It was a Sunday of triple achievement for Portugal at the Paris Paralympics. After Miguel Monteiro and Diogo Cancela, it was Cristina Gonçalves who further enriched her résumé with a gold medal in the individual boccia event.
For the 46-year-old athlete from Lisbon (the most experienced member of the Portuguese delegation in these events), the gold medal earned in Paris marked her fourth appearance on the podium, following her title in Athens 2024, silver in Beijing 2008, and bronze in Rio 2016, always in team competition and in the BC1/BC2 class.
This time, however, success came in an individual event, in which she had not progressed past the group stage in the last two editions of the Games. Her journey in Paris was nearly perfect up to the final, and in the decisive match, she achieved a resounding victory over South Korean Soyeong Jeong, with a score of 4-1.
In the afternoon semi-finals, Cristina Gonçalves, 46, had defeated Indonesian Gischa Zayana, winning 7-3, setting the stage for what became Portugal’s third medal in Paris 2024, a record that already surpasses that of Tokyo 2020, where Portugal secured two bronze medals by Miguel Monteiro and Norberto Mourão.
“The Government congratulates Cristina Gonçalves for winning the gold medal in Boccia BC2 at the Paris 2024 Paralympics! Cristina Gonçalves’s success is an inspiring example of talent and determination,” reads the statement from the executive led by Luís Montenegro, published on social media platform X.
During the medal ceremony in the French capital, Cristina Gonçalves celebrated appropriately and, as soon as the national anthem finished playing, she called her fellow podium competitors to celebrate together. A gesture as significant as the sporting achievement.