PARIS, 1 Sep. (by EUROPA PRESS special correspondent Ramón Chamorro) –
British archer Jodie Grinham was one of the stars of the third day of competition this Saturday at the Paris Paralympic Games, winning the bronze medal in the compound archery event while seven months pregnant.
Despite her current situation, Grinham was able to reach the semi-finals, where she lost to Turkey’s Oznur Cure Girdi, later Paralympic champion, and in the fight for bronze she defeated her compatriot Phoebe Paterson Pine.
She also noticed her baby’s kicking during her participation. “He hasn’t stopped, it’s like he’s saying: ‘What’s wrong? This is so loud, mommy, what are you doing?’ I was like: ‘Not now, mommy loves you, you’ll be able to kick in a minute.’ But it’s been like a little honour to know he was there and just a reminder of the little bubble of support I have in my belly,” she stressed.
“My coach and I spent a lot of time doing little pregnancy prep, where she would just move me and move my belly so I could get used to that feeling. Even when I was pulling today, I was standing at maximum tension, I would feel that feeling (of the baby moving) and it’s almost like you recognize it and say, ‘I know you’re there. Mommy loves you, I’ll hug you in a minute,'” Grinham said after winning bronze, joking that she will tell her daughter when she gets older that she was “the youngest to be on the podium.”