Paralympic Archer Makes History Winning Gold and Bronze at 7 Months Pregnant with Her ‘Little Support Bubble’

Seven months pregnant, archer Jodie Grinham says she wanted to compete in the 2024 Paralympic Games to show “nothing is impossible’

 

British archer Jodie Grinham became the first athlete ever to win a Paralympic medal while pregnant when she won an individual bronze medal on Saturday, before capping off her historic weekend with a team gold medal on Monday at the 2024 Paris Games.

Grinham, who is seven months pregnant with her second child, told BBC after she and Great Britain won gold that “all I wanted to do at the end was jump up and down and cry and scream and shout.”

“But being heavily pregnant, realistically the best thing to do was crouch down and take a second and then I could give hugs and things,” the Paralympic archer continued. “The emotion was just a wave and it was like being a child at Christmas and getting your favorite toy.”

Grinham and her Great Britain teammate Nathan Macqueen, from Scotland, captured the gold medal by defeating Iran 155-151 in the final round of team competition.

Grinham made history earlier in the weekend when she became the first person ever to medal in the Paralympic Games while pregnant, winning the individual bronze in a contest against her teammate Phoebe Paterson Pine.

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The 31-year-old archer is expecting her second child later this year, and is already a mother to her infant son Christian, according to BBC. The outlet reported that Grinham was nearly forced out of the competition because of a health scare last week, which landed her in a Paris hospital for a check-up.

NBC News reported that Grinham had gone to the hospital after feeling scared that her baby had stopped moving. Doctors assured Grinham that her baby was healthy and implored her to rest following the Paralympic Games, according to the outlet.

Grinham has said she wanted to participate in the 2024 Summer Games in order to provide an inspiring message to other women around the world.

“The idea was to show that nothing is impossible and to go out there and smash it,” Grinham told BBC.

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Speaking with The Guardian, Grinham said that “it’s been a real honor to know that the baby is there and that little support bubble I’ve got in my belly.”

Now a three-time Paralympic medalist, Grinham was born with a shortened left arm with no left handed fingers and only a thumb. She previously won a silver medal in mixed team competition at the 2016 Rio Games. She did not compete in the Tokyo Paralympic Games because of injuries she suffered from a fall, according to NBC.

To learn more about all the Olympic champions and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Paris Paralympics, beginning Aug. 28, on NBC and Peacock.

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