| Portugal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IPC code | POR |
| NPC | Paralympic Committee of Portugal |
| Website | www |
| in Beijing | |
| Competitors | 35 in 7 sports |
| Flag bearer | Filomena Franco [1] |
| Officials | 56 [2] |
| Medals Ranked 42nd |
|
| Summer Paralympics appearances (overview) | |
Portugal competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. The country participated with 35 competitors in seven sports. [2]
| Athlete(s) | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Overall | Result | Rank | Overall | Result | Rank | ||
| Nuno Alves | 1500 m – T11 | 4:21.41 | 4 | 8 q | N/A | Did not advance | |||
| 5000 m – T11 | N/A | Did not finish | |||||||
| Firmino Baptista | 100 m – T11 | 11.78 | 1 Q | 12 | 11.73 | 3 | 11 | Did not advance | |
| 200 m – T11 | 24.15 | 3 | 12 q | 24.09 | 4 | 8 q | 24.13 | 6 | |
| Carlos Ferreira | Marathon – T12 | N/A | |||||||
| Luís Gonçalves | 200 m – T12 | 22.88 SB | 1 Q | 8 | 22.83 SB | 3 | 9 | Did not advance | |
| 400 m – T12 | 49.18 SB | 1 Q | 2 | 50.48 | 2 | 2 q | 50.15 |  | |
| Carlos Lopes | 100 m – T11 | 11.82 | 2 | 13 | Did not advance | ||||
| Gabriel Macchi | 10000 m – T12 | N/A | Did not finish | ||||||
| Marathon – T12 | N/A | 2:42:06 | 14 | ||||||
| José Monteiro | 800 m – T46 | 2:01.69 | 6 | 16 | N/A | Did not advance | |||
| 1500 m – T46 | 4:13.98 SB | 9 | 18 | N/A | Did not advance | ||||
| Jorge Pina | Marathon – T12 | N/A | |||||||
| Gabriel Potra | 200 m – T12 | 22.92 | 3 | 10 q | 23.23 | 4 | 10 | Did not advance | |
| Pentathlon – P12 | N/A | Did not finish | |||||||
| Alexandrino Silva | Marathon – T54 | N/A | |||||||
| Ricardo Vale | 5000 m – T11 | N/A | 16:32.49 | 5 | |||||
| Carlos Lopes Firmino Baptista Gabriel Potra Luís Gonçalves | 4x100 m – T11/13 | Disqualified | N/A | Did not advance | |||||
| Athlete(s) | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Overall | Result | Rank | Overall | Result | Rank | ||
| Maria Graça Fernandes | 100 m – T38 | 15.26 SB | 5 | 9 | Did not advance | ||||
| 200 m – T38 | 31.21 SB | 5 | 8 q | N/A | 31.38 | 8 | |||
| Odete Fiúza | 800 m – T12/13 | 2:31.67 SB | 4 | 6 | Did not advance | ||||
| 1500 m – T13 | N/A | 5:03.51 | 8 | ||||||
Four gold medalists from the 2004 Games—João Paulo Fernandes, Cristina Gonçalves, António Marques and Fernando Ferreira—returned to compete in Beijing. The boccia national team's coach is Helena Bastos. Portugal was expected to be a strong contender in this sport as it is regarded as one of the most successful countries ever. [3]
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Augusto Pereira | Road race (LC3–4/CP3) | 1:49:37 | 22 |
| Road time trial (CP3) | 43:43.02 | 7 |
| Athlete | Horse | Event | Final Score | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sara Duarte | Neapolitano Morel | Freestyle grade II | 66.336 | 5 |
| Athlete | Event | Heats | Repechage | Final B | Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | |||
| Filomena Franco | Women's single sculls | 7:31.90 | 6 | 8:29:90 | 5 | 8:04:89 | 5 | 11 |
| Athlete | Event | Heats | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Overall | Time | Rank | ||
| David Grachat | 50 m freestyle – S9 | 26.77 | 4 | 9 | Did not advance | |
| 100 m freestyle – S9 | 57.93 | 3 | 6 Q | 57.55 | 6 | |
| 200 m individual medley – SM9 | 2:28.75 | 3 | 7 Q | 2:26.13 | 7 | |
| Nélson Lopes | 50 m backstroke – S4 | 52.74 | 5 | 8 Q | 53.38 | 8 |
| 150 m individual medley – SM4 | 3:15.06 | 6 | 9 | Did not advance | ||
| João Martins | 50 m backstroke – S1 | N/A | 1:47.76 |  | ||
| Athlete | Event | Heats | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Overall | Time | Rank | ||
| Joana Calado | 100 m breaststroke – SB8 | 1:28.46 | 4 | 6 Q | 1:28.53 | 5 |
| 200 m individual medley – SM9 | 2:52.52 | 7 | 12 | Did not advance | ||
| Simone Fragoso | 50 m freestyle – S5 | 48.69 | 6 | 10 | Did not advance | |
| 50 m backstroke – S5 | 58.90 | 7 | 11 | Did not advance | ||
| Diana Guimarães | 50 m backstroke – S5 | 1:06.57 | 6 | 13 | Did not advance | |
| 100 m breaststroke – SB4 | 2:22.77 | 5 | 9 | Did not advance | ||
| Leila Marques | 100 m breaststroke – SB8 | 1:29.99 | 5 | 7 Q | 1:30.11 | 7 |
| 400 m freestyle – S9 | 5:10.30 | 5 | 13 | Did not advance | ||
| Perpétua Vaza | 50 m freestyle – S3 | 1:16.18 | 5 | 9 | Did not advance | |
| 50 m backstroke – S3 | 1:21.95 | 5 | 10 | Did not advance | ||
| Athlete(s) | Event | Races | Total points | Net points | Rank | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
| Bento Amaral (s) Luísa Silvano (c) | SKUD18 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 73 | 55 | 9 | |||
Boccia is a precision ball sport, similar to bocce, and related to bowls and pétanque. The name "boccia" is derived from the Latin word for "boss" – bottia. The sport is contested at local, national and international levels, by athletes with severe physical disabilities. It was originally designed to be played by people with cerebral palsy but now includes athletes with other severe disabilities affecting motor skills. In 1984, it became a Paralympic sport and as of 2020, 75 boccia national organizations have joined one or more of the international organizations. Boccia is governed by the Boccia International Sports Federation (BISFed) and is one of two Paralympic sports that have no counterpart in the Olympic program, although it is a Paralympic variant of bocce (boules).
China was the host of the 2008 Summer Paralympics, held in Beijing. China's delegation included 547 people, of whom 332 were competitors. The athletes, 197 men and 135 women, ranged in age from 15 to 51 and competed in all twenty sports. 226 of the competitors participated in the Paralympic Games for the first time. The delegation was the largest in Chinese history and at the 2008 Games. China topped the medal count at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens. China dominated the medal count winning the most gold, silver, bronze, and total medals by a wide margin in Beijing.
Great Britain competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Great Britain sent a delegation of around 400, of which 212 were athletes, to compete in eighteen sports at the Games. The team was made up of athletes from the whole United Kingdom; athletes from Northern Ireland, who may elect to hold Irish citizenship under the pre-1999 article 2 of the Irish constitution, are able to be selected to represent either Great Britain or Ireland at the Paralympics. Additionally some British overseas territories compete separately from Britain in Paralympic competition.
Boccia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics consisted of seven events. The competitions were held in the Beijing National Convention Center from September 7 to September 12.
Norway sent a delegation of 24 competitors, to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, from September 6 to September 17, 2008.
The United States sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. A total of 213 U.S. competitors took part in 18 sports; the only 2 sports Americans did not compete in were soccer 5-a-side and 7-a-side. The American delegation included 16 former members of the U.S. military, including 3 veterans of the Iraq War. Among them were shot putter Scott Winkler, who was paralyzed in an accident in Iraq, and swimmer Melissa Stockwell, a former United States Army officer who lost her left leg to a roadside bomb in the war.
Canada sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. 143 Canadian athletes competed in 17 sports. Canada also sent several officials to the games, including Tara Grieve in boccia and Andrew Smith in rowing. Canada finished seventh on the medal table at the Beijing games after finishing third on the medal table at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. Swimmer Donovan Tildesley, a world record-holder and medalist at the 2000 and 2004 Paralympics, was the country's flag bearer at the opening ceremony. The delegation is headed by Chef de Mission Debbie Low.
Greece competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The national team of Greece was composed of 69 athletes, 53 men and 16 women, who competed in 11 sports, archery, athletics, boccia, cycling, judo, powerlifting, sailing, shooting, swimming, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair tennis. Contrary to the tradition in the Summer Olympic Games, Greece did not enter first during the parade of nations at the opening ceremony but 69th in name order in Chinese, with the swimmer Charalampos Taiganidis being the team's flag bearer.
Algeria sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Boccia has been contested at the Summer Paralympics since the 1984 Games in New York City and Stoke Mandeville.
Boccia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics was held in the ExCeL from 2 September to 8 September, with a maximum of 104 athletes competing in seven events. There were four individual events, two pair events, and one team event.
Great Britain competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from 29 August to 9 September 2012 as the host nation. A total of 288 athletes were selected to compete along with 13 other team members such as sighted guides. The country finished third in the medals table, behind China and Russia, winning 120 medals in total; 34 gold, 43 silver and 43 bronze. Multiple medallists included cyclist Sarah Storey and wheelchair athlete David Weir, who won four gold medals each, and swimmer Stephanie Millward who won a total of five medals. Storey also became the British athlete with the most overall medals, 22, and equal-most gold medals, 11, in Paralympic Games history.
Tom Leahy is a paralympic athlete from Ireland competing mainly in category BC2 Boccia events and F32 throwing events. Leahy competed in eight Paralympic Games. He won three Paralympic gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals.
Manuel Ángel Martín Pérez is a Spanish boccia player who is also known as Manolo Martín. He has cerebral palsy and is a BC2 type athlete.
José Manuel Rodríguez Vázquez is a Spanish boccia player, who has represented the country internationally at the Paralympic Games. Vazquez won a gold medal in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens.
Israel competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. They are scheduled to compete in sailing, cycling, shooting, and rowing.
Singapore competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016.
Cristina Gonçalves is a Portuguese boccia player. She has competed for her country at several Summer Paralympic Games and has won four medals, including two gold medals. She has cerebral palsy since contracting meningitis when she was 11 months old.
Pieter Cilissen is a Belgian Paralympian and Boccia player. His active playing career started in 1997 at the age of 19 and ended in 2019 at the age of 41, making his career of 22 years at the international stage a near unicum. His first Paralympics was Sydney 2000 where he finished 5th in the Pairs with Jean-Luc Béro. He missed Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 but in London 2012, he won a bronze medal in boccia for mixed pairs BC3. Cilissen also competed in the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro but failed to get a medal.
Fernando Manuel da Costa Ferreira is a Portuguese boccia player. He has competed for his country and won medals at several Summer Paralympics.
