ParalympicsGB's Jodie Grinham becomes first pregnant athlete to medal

All athletes in international competition can detail the way their mindset and physical condition at the time of the event affects their performance. Jodie Grinham of Team Great Britain has a unique set of circumstances on both fronts, though, as she is competing at the Paris 2024 Paralympics while seven months pregnant. She recently made history as the first Paralympic athlete to medal while expecting.

"What's going on?"

Grinham related her experience to ESPN following her bronze medal victory on August 30. The bronze medal match-up pitted her against fellow Brit Phoebe Paterson Pine, who won the gold medal in the W2 Women's Individual Compound event in the Tokyo Paralympics.

Paterson Pine, also known by the nickname of "P3" or "Triple P" won her title in Tokyo by just one point (134-133). In her competition against Grinham, she was denied the bronze medal by one point. The final score was 142-141.

Grinham was not the only one excited about the win. She commented that "Baby hasn't stopped kicking" and that "It's almost like baby's going 'what's going on? It's really loud, mommy what are you doing?' But it's been a lovely reminder of the support bubble I have in my belly."

She also commented that, while it's not been an easy journey, "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."

She did it again

At the time of the ESPN article, Grinham hoped to win a second medal in the mixed team compound. In fact, Grinham and partner Nathan MacQueen took one of Team Great Britain's gold medal victories over the Gold Rush weekend.

Says the ParalympicsGB site, they "won their gold the hard way, needing a string of perfect tens to beat their Iranian rivals in a tense final on the Esplanade des Invalides." The 33-year-old MacQueen is competing in his third Paralympic Games and has an excellent working relationship with his partner:

"We've known each other for almost a decade. We have just got a good bond. I can tell what Jodie's thinking most of the time which is a bit worrying...we've got each other's back."

- Nathan Macqueen

He also remarked that "We are both parents now and there is a lot of sacrifice being a high-performance athlete, being away from your children. They are the hardest bits but this has made it all worth it. I can give my wee boy a medal."