One-armed table tennis player enthusiastic at the Olympics
Brazilian table tennis player Bruna Alexandra has only one arm. At the Paralympics, she is among the top favorites. But that's not enough for her. She wants to prove herself at the Olympics too - and she's doing quite well. There's an exception in the rulebook for her.
The German team played on the far left with veteran Timo Boll, and the French team with new table tennis hero Felix Lebrun right next to them. But a significant portion of the attention in the Sud 4 arena in Paris was on Bruna Alexandre, the Brazilian ranked 182nd in the world. The 29-year-old had no medal chances in Paris, at least not at the Olympics. What sets Alexandre apart from Boll or Lebrun is that she has only one arm. And before her start at the Paralympics, she was on a mission among the "non-disabled."
"I'm very happy to represent all people with disabilities here and show that anything is possible," Alexandre said. What was possible: In her Olympic debut, she beat South Korean Lee Eun Hye, ranked 42nd in the world, 3-2 in the team event, exciting the audience. Even though Brazil was eliminated and the Olympics are over for her, she is the best, albeit rare, example of lived inclusion in Olympic sports.
Alexandre, who lost her arm as an infant due to a thrombosis, has been one of the best para-table tennis players for years, winning two bronze medals in Rio in 2016 and silver in Tokyo in 2021. She is also a favorite at the Paris Paralympics (starting August 28). But that's not enough for the ambitious left-hander. Alexandre wants to play against the best in the world, just like she did at the World Championships in Busan, where she competed among the non-disabled professionals.
"I hope that one day it will be completely normal"
There have been several athletes who have competed in both the Olympics and Paralympics. Discus Olympic champion Ilke Wyludda, for example, who started a second career after an above-knee amputation. However, it is much less common for athletes to compete in both events in the same year. The first to achieve this was Polish table tennis player Natalia Partyka, who did it four times, from 2008 to 2021. Four other women and one man have also achieved "paraolympic" honors in this way.
"Partyka inspired me, she started this chapter in table tennis history," says Alexandre. She emphasizes that she does not feel limited by her disability. There is just one exception for her: Alexandre is allowed to lift the ball with her racket before serving - usually a foul. She won't win an Olympic medal, like the five "dual starters" before her. But that's secondary, because there's her mission: "I hope that one day it will be completely normal for someone with a disability to play against someone with two arms."
She herself has said that she lives her life without feeling limited: "In many things, I don't even notice that I have a disability. I live my life just like anyone else with two arms. I'm not limited, I can do anything I want."
Despite her success at the Paralympics with two bronze medals in Rio and silver in Tokyo, Bruna Alexandre aspires to compete against the best in the able-bodied Olympic Games. Her mission is to make it normal for athletes with disabilities to compete at the highest level, just like her idol, Natalia Partyka. Regarding the Olympics, Alexandre acknowledged, "I won't win an Olympic medal, but my goal is for someone with a disability to play against someone with two arms one day."
