Jackie Silva

:"Not to be confused with a professional surfer Jacqueline Silva."

Jacqueline ("Jackie") Louise Cruz Silva (born February 13, 1962 in Rio de Janeiro) is a retired volleyball player from Brazil, who won the gold medal in the inaugural women's beach volleyball tournament at the 1996 Summer Olympics, partnering Sandra Pires.

Jackie was first drafted by the Brazil women's national volleyball team at the age of 14. She was part of the team who took Brazil to its first Olympics, Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984. She was known for her aggressive temperament, which led the Confederação Brasileira de Voleibol to cut her from the national team three times. In 1987 she left Brazil and played in Italy. In 1988, she went to the United States to become a beach volleyball player, with Linda Chisholm as her first partner. In 1993 she joined Sandra Pires, with whom she won two world championships and the Olympic gold.

References

* [http://www.jackiesilva.com.br/ Official website]
* [http://www.bvbinfo.com/player.asp?ID=1287 Career profile]