María Teresa Portela Rivas is a Spanish sprint canoer who has competed since the early 2000s. Portela competed in six Summer Olympics, earning a silver medal on her sixth games at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Women's K-1 200 m. Previously she finished fourth on one occasion and fifth on three occasions.

The 2003 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held September 10–14, 2003 in Gainesville, Georgia, United States at Lake Lanier. Located north of Atlanta, this was also where the canoe sprint and rowing events for the 1996 Summer Olympics took place.