With both her father and her mother being volleyball players, Cristina Pereira grew up with the sport. Playing for Matosinhos, Boavista and Castelo da Maia, she won the Portuguese title five times, and the national cup on four occasions. In 1993, she started to play beach volleyball with Maria José Schuller, as one of the first Portuguese couples to take up that sport seriously. In 1994, they reached a 7th place at the World Games (Olympics for non-Olympic sport) in The Hague, but failed to qualify for the Olympic debut of the sport in 1996. The duo continued, reaching a 4th place in the European Ranking in 1999, and qualifyfing for the 2000 Olympics. Pereira retired following a 9th place in Sydney. In 2009, she died of cancer, aged 41.
Portugal