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Jodie Grinham, 7 months pregnant, wins archery bronze at Paralympic Games
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Jodie Grinham, 7 months pregnant, wins archery bronze at Paralympic Games

British archer Jodie Grinham won a bronze medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in the women’s compound open on Saturday while seven months pregnant.

The 31-year-old Grinham narrowly defeated fellow American Phoebe Paterson Pine to win her medal 142-141.

“I’m really proud of myself, I’ve had a hard time and it hasn’t been easy. But as long as I’m healthy and the baby is healthy, I knew we could compete,” Grinham said Saturday. “I knew if I shot the best I could, baby or not, I would come back with a medal.

“The baby hasn’t stopped kicking, it’s almost like the baby is saying ‘what’s going on, it’s really loud, mommy what are you doing’. But it’s a nice reminder of the support bubble I have in my belly.”

It was Grinham’s first podium finish since she teamed with John Stubbs to win a silver medal at the 2016 Paralympic Games in the mixed team category, a category for athletes with “lower levels of disability in the upper or lower limbs,” according to the British Paralympic Association.

Grinham previously said The Athletics she has “no fingers and half a thumb” on her left side due to a congenital condition called brachysyndactyly. Due to the condition, the Paralympic athlete also competes with arms of different lengths, and said her shoulder is underdeveloped through her side, extending into her left core and hip.

Previously, she and her partner Christopher had three miscarriages.

According to World Archery, Grinham is currently ranked 10th in the world for the women’s compound tournament.

“My team has joked a few times that my water might break on stage,” Grinham said earlier this month. “That would be a big deal.”

During the Olympic Games in Paris last month, Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez announced after competing in the women’s sabre competition that she was seven months pregnant.

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(Photo: Alex Slitz/Getty Images)