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Jodie Grinham is perhaps the only athlete at the Paralympics who can’t wait to get the first Eurostar out of dodge.
No seeing the sights, no lingering over a hard-earned coffee in a pavement cafe and certainly no glass of vin blanc to celebrate, she’s straight back home to see her family – and her midwife.
Grinham, who is seven months pregnant, didn’t want to be one of these Games curiosities when she competed in the para-archery event, a medal was the only thing required to be worth the sacrifices of recent weeks.
And she delivered with a bronze in the individual compound competition, beating defending champion, teammate and close friend Phoebe Paterson Pine by just one point in a match that went to the final arrow.
The 31-year-old, who still has the mixed team event to come, is a meticulous planner and could tell you exactly where the nearest maternity hospital was to the competition venue at the Esplanade des Invalides in the heart of the city.
She felt the baby kick several times as she came through four rounds of intense competition to contest her medal match – the impending new arrival obviously keen to wish mum good luck.
Grinham – who spent last weekend in hospital after worrying the baby hadn’t moved – speaks passionately about wanting to be a mother and an athlete and hopes her story is an example to others.
“Baby hasn’t stopped kicking, it’s almost like baby’s going ‘what’s going on, it’s really loud, mummy what are you doing’ but it has been a lovely reminder of the support bubble I have in my belly,” said Grinham, who is part of Aldi’s Nearest and Dearest programme in partnership with ParalympicsGB, helping to maximise support and minimise potential distractions for athletes so that they can focus on their performance.
“I’m really proud of myself, I’ve had difficulties and it’s not been easy. But as long as I’m healthy and baby’s healthy, I knew I could compete. I knew if I shot as well as I could, baby or not, I could come back as a medal.
“There is no stigma, the stereotype of things is completely irrelevant. If you feel able to do it, go and do it. If you want to start jogging or go to the gym, if your doctor says it’s fine, do it. If you’re happy and healthy, the baby is happy and healthy too. If I worked in an office, they’d have me there for another 12 weeks working so what difference does this make?”
Paterson Pine, while disappointed to miss a medal, only had thoughts for her friend as they embraced after a showdown that saw them match each other arrow for arrow all the way.
“I’m so proud of her. She has defied so many odds and has been able to come out and produce an incredible performance,” she said.
“She is getting towards the end of her pregnancy, she has done fantastically and worked really hard. We have known each other since 2014, we have basically grown up with each other. We will continue to push each other on and keep going.
“It made it harder knowing each other so well. It’s one of those things where on the day it could switch either way, I could have gone out and produced a stormer of a performance.
“We will continue to keep training together and pushing each other, that’s the amazing thing about having such a talented teammate.”
Aldi are proud Official Partners of Team GB & ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes through to Paris 2024.
