British para archer Jodie Grinham has made history on the world stage, winning a bronze medal in women’s individual archery.
After an intense shoot-off against her teammate and defending champion Phoebe Paterson Pine, Ms Grinham managed to score a nine and two 10s to secure a spot on the podium.
It’s the second medal Ms Grinham will take home after winning gold with Nathan Macqueen in the mixed team compound final – news that’s still sinking in for her.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” she said.
The Paris Olympics said it’s yet more proof that the idea pregnant women cannot compete at the elite level is an enduring sport fallacy.
While pregnant women including boxers, divers, footballers and rock climbers have won Olympic medals, Ms Grinham is reportedly the first openly pregnant woman to take home a medal in the Paralympics.
Throughout the Games, the 31-year-old who is seven months pregnant, has remained laser focused on competing.
She said the job at hand was her main priority and her pregnancy was just part of life.
“It doesn’t sink in yet [when people say ‘congratulations’] because I’m still in competition mode,” she told Sky Sports.
“I know that we still have a job to do and I wasn’t going to celebrate one medal when actually I knew if I kept my head straight we could be celebrating two.
“And we did and we’re champions.”
Ms Grinham, who was born with a condition called Brachysyndactyly, has a shortened left arm, underdeveloped left shoulder, no fingers and half a thumb on her left hand.
The former law school student worked with her father to develop a way for her to grip the bow and shoot.
“Coming here as an athlete I knew I was going to perform, I’m not here to participate, I’m here to compete, I’m here to win medals,” she said.
“And the pregnancy is just an added thing on top that’s another barrier that realistically just goes along with my life of different barriers [laughs].”
Ms Grinham is world number ten in compound women open with Paris being her second Paralympics.
Her rise through the ranks in elite sport has been a dream come true and it wasn’t something she was willing to sacrifice in the pursuit of her other calling to become a mother.
Ms Grinham, who had her first child in 2022, said the journey to starting and growing a family has been tough and heartbreaking.
“We lost three trying to get our son,” she said.
She has been calling for more open conversations around pregnancy and reproductive health for women in elite sports.
“I know what it’s like to make the Games, I know what it’s like to miss the Games, and I know what it’s like to have a baby and I know what it’s like to lose a baby,” said Ms Grinham.
“And those are things in your life that you can’t help and you can’t change.
“I wanted to be able to do both. I knew that I could do both.”