British archer Jodie Grinham makes history by winning bronze while seven months pregnant

Paul MILLAR

31 August 2024 at 7:51 pm·2-min read

Jodie Grinham had already made history by being the first openly pregnant athlete to compete in the Paralympic Games. On Saturday night, the British archer secured her place in posterity by winning bronze at the women’s individual compound bow finals, edging out fellow Briton Phoebe Paterson Pine by one point in a nerve-wracking final showdown. Turkey’s Oznur Cure Girdi took home the gold after a convincing victory over Iranian archer Fatameh Hemmati.

Jodie Grinham is hard to miss. The British archer's brilliant pink fringe peeks out from under her baseball cap, perfectly paired with the elaborate cables and pulleys of her rose-coloured compound bow. A hot pink sling loops under her right shoulder, steadying her back as she threads arrow after arrow through the wheels and wires of her weapon of choice.

Grinham is also seven months pregnant – the first openly pregnant woman to have competed in the Paralympic Games since their beginning. The 31-year-old, who was born with no fingers and half a thumb on her left hand, won silver in the mixed doubles in Rio. On Saturday evening, at the lavish Esplanade des Invalides, she became the first person to win a medal in the Paralympics while openly pregnant.

It's been something of a team effort. Speaking to reporters after her victory, Grinham said that her unborn child had been kicking furiously throughout the competition.

“Oh my gosh, the baby hasn’t stopped!” she said. “It’s like the baby’s going, ‘what’s going on, it’s really loud, mummy what are you doing!’ But it’s been lovely, it’s been like a little honour to know that the baby’s there and just a reminder of the little support bubble that I’ve got in my belly. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

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