A four-time Paralympic medalist and two-time able-bodied champion in her country, the 29-year-old Brazilian is competing in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. A rare feat, about which she recounts with emotion the behind the scenes.
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On August 5, Bruna Alexandre entered the history of her country. It is not her brilliant performance that Brazilians will remember – she was eliminated in the round of 16 of the table tennis team tournament against South Korea. But rather the images of the 29-year-old athlete, with one arm amputated, far from being ridiculous against opponents who, for their part, had two arms. Never, until this match, had a Brazilian woman participated in the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. And in the world, there are only a handful, men and women combined, to have managed to double the Olympics in the same year. In Paris, the Australian table tennis player Melissa Tapper achieved the same feat this year.
A few days after the match against South Korea, in a noisy room at the Casa Brasil, in the Parc de la Villette in Paris, the quadruple Paralympic medallist (three times bronze, once silver) told us about her experience, her emotion and her ambitions.
How did you feel at the Olympic Games in Paris?
I think I still don’t fully understand what happened to me. But there was a first realization when I entered the room. The French public was incredible, people supported me, gave me a lot of energy… I was very moved, on the verge of tears. Seeing how they support the French, it made me think of Rio, in 2016, when I was playing at home. Today, I am 29 years old, I started table tennis at 7 years old. Never, at the time, would I have imagined that I would go this far. You have to understand how hard it is, for a Paralympic athlete, to also do the Olympic Games. It takes many years of perseverance. You have to convince yourself that, even if you only have one arm or one leg, it is possible.
How did it change for you to play against Olympic athletes?
I lost my arm when I was 3 years old, due to a reaction to a vaccine, BCG. [contre la tuberculose, ndlr]. When I started table tennis, I had a lot of difficulty serving, it’s hard when you only have one arm. Today, serving is one of my strong points. But I still have difficulty with balance. I feel it a lot, especially when I play the best in the world, like against the South Korean team this year, the third nation in the world. The girls are very fast, it’s hard for me to keep up.
When did you start to believe that it was possible to do both Olympics?
When I was the able-bodied Brazilian champion in 2021 and 2022. Then I did the Pan American Games, where I really played eye to eye with the other girls. Then, in February of this year, I was part of the selections for the world team championships in South Korea. I played six matches, I won four. The other two, I lost against the 5th and 20th player in the world. I had climbed to around 170th place in the world. In my head I was saying to myself: “OK, this place will be yours.” But it took until June for the Federation to make the list for Paris official. It was a long process. One day, the national coach sent me a message and said: “I’d like to call you, and with the camera.” It was to tell me that I was in. At the time, I didn’t realize it. It was really when I saw the publication of the Brazilian federation on Instagram that I realized that it was done. Then, a lot of things went through my head, I thought back to the whole journey, to all the events.
Do you feel like you have become an example in Brazil?
I hope that what I have done can open many doors. That it shows people, in our country, that it is possible. And even in France, for that matter. I also think about inclusion, I hope that this will help to advance it. I have seen that more and more people are following me on social networks. It makes me happy that people are interested in Paralympic and Olympic sport. I just hope that all these people will continue to follow me and support me in the more complicated times.
How will the Olympics help you for the Paralympics?
I was able to play on the same tables as those at the Paralympic Games, soak up the room, the atmosphere. I was also able to discover the Olympic village, see that the beds there are much too hard. (laugh). I also met a lot of inspiring athletes there, like gymnasts Simone Biles or Rebeca Andrade. I’m sure that all this will help me. I won silver in Tokyo, today I’m seeded number 3 for the Paralympic Games, and I believe more than ever in this individual gold medal. In the worst case, I will also have the mixed doubles and the women’s doubles to get there.
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