Great Britain’s Jodie Grinham made a remarkable return to the Paralympics on Thursday, competing for the first time since Rio 2016 while seven months pregnant. In the women’s individual compound open archery event, Grinham achieved a personal best score of 693 and finished fourth during the ranking stages.
Grinham advanced through three closely contested matches to secure a bronze medal. Her only loss came against the dominant Oznur Cure Girdi, who ultimately won the gold in Paris. In the bronze medal match, Grinham overcame her compatriot and defending champion Phoebe Paterson Pine. Despite trailing by two points before the final end, she clinched the medal with a nine and two tens.
“I wasn’t expecting that. I knew I could do it, but I didn’t mean ‘yeah, I’m gonna win a medal’. There was no guarantee,” Grinham said. She emphasized her goal of competing at a high level and winning medals while pregnant. “I wanted to show that I am not here to participate pregnant. I am here to compete and win medals pregnant. And I think I got that cross, which I’m really glad about,” she added.
Grinham noted that the pregnancy required adjustments to her archery setup. “We’ve had to change stabilisation because the front is definitely becoming more heavy. It’s been the key to make sure about even daily changes. If I need to add weight, I just do it,” she explained. She acknowledged the need for constant adjustments based on how the pregnancy affects her stability and performance.
The media attention surrounding her achievement surprised Grinham but also allowed her to convey a powerful message. “I didn’t realize how much it’s an inspiration and how much people were interested and being affected by this,” she said. Her aim was to demonstrate that achieving high-level competition while pregnant is possible. “I wanted to show anything is possible. Just go and do it. If you want to do it, then do it,” she concluded.
Grinham had previously won a silver medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympics with partner John Stubbs in the mixed team compound and placed 10th in the individual competition.
