The 29-year-old lost her right arm due to a blood clot that occurred when she was just a few months old, yet she began playing table tennis at the age of seven.
She took home two bronze medals from the Rio Paralympics in 2016 and two more in Tokyo 2020—one each for team and individuals.
She is followed by two other competitors at both games, Melissa Tapper of Australia and Natalya Partyka of Poland, in table tennis.
Partyka made her debut in Beijing in 2008, then again in London in 2012, before Tapper joined her in Rio and Tokyo.
After competing in the 2008 Olympics, Sandra Paovic of Croatia sustained a spinal injury in a car accident that limited her movement. Despite this setback, Paovic returned to table tennis and won gold at the 2016 Paralympics.
Other athletes who competed in the Olympics and Paralympics were swimmer Natalie du Toit and sprinter Oscar Pistorius of South Africa.
Alexandre expressed her happiness at the chance to represent all Brazilians with disabilities at the Olympics and to demonstrate that she can compete on an equal footing with any athlete. Alexandre trains for balance and coordination issues by using other sports like futsal and skateboarding.
