Anna Grimaldi MNZM (born 12 February 1997) is a New Zealand para-athlete, primarily competing in the long jump and sprint events. She has won two gold medals at Paralympics in the women's long jump: at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, and at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo.[1][2]
.jpg) Grimaldi in 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 February 1997 Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Sport | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Sport | Para athletics |
| Disability class | T47, F46 |
| Events | |
| Club | Hill City-University |
Personal life
Grimaldi was born in Dunedin to Tony and Di Grimaldi, and has one sister, Abby.[3] She was born with a withered right forearm and no functional right hand.[4][5] She attended Bayfield High School in Dunedin; she played netball and basketball for the school and in her final year was a sports prefect.[4][6] Grimaldi studied quantity surveying at Otago Polytechnic.[7]
Athletics career
Grimaldi started para-athletics after attending a Paralympic talent identification event in October 2013. She initially was reluctant to attend, having had no formal athletics training and fearing she would be "shocking".[4][5] She is classified T47 for track events and long jump, and F46 for field events.[8] She won her first international competition medal, the bronze in the women's long jump T47, at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha, Qatar. She set a personal best of 5.41 m, while her second-best 5.38 m secured her the bronze medal over Russian Alexandra Moguchaya on countback.[9] Grimaldi also placed fifth in the women's 200 metres T47 final.[10]
Her long jump distance at the 2015 World Championships ranked her in the top five in the long jump T47 during the Paralympics qualifying period, earning her a slot at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. She was officially confirmed to represent New Zealand at the Paralympics on 23 May 2016.[11] At the Paralympics, she won the gold medal in the women's long jump T47 with a distance of 5.62 m, breaking her personal best by 21 cm.[1][12] She also placed fourth in the women's 100 metres T47 final,[13] and competed in the 200 metres T47 where she was disqualified in the heat for a lane infringement.[14]
At the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships, Grimaldi ran the 200 m heats before pulling out of the 200 m final and 100 m due to a recurring foot injury in order to concentrate on the long jump. She placed fourth in the long jump, missing the medals by one centimetre.[15]
Returning to New Zealand after the 2017 championships, Grimaldi's foot injury was discovered to be a stress fracture in her left navicular bone. She subsequently missed the entire 2018 season.[15][16]
At the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships, Grimaldi placed second with a distance of 5.50 m, two centimetres behind Kiara Rodriguez of Ecuador.
At the 2021 Otago Athletics Championships Grimaldi set a personal best of 5.91 m, ten centimetres short of the T47 world record and placing her second in the overall (able-bodied and para) annual national rankings.[17] At the delayed 2020 Summer Paralympics, Grimaldi won the gold medal in the women's long jump T47 with a distance of 5.76 m, setting a new Paralympic Games record.[18]
Awards
Grimaldi was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2017 New Year Honours, for her services to athletics.[19]
Statistics
Personal bests
| Event | Result (wind) | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long jump (T47) | 5.91 (+1.8 m/s) | 14 February 2021 | Dunedin, New Zealand | NR[20] |
| 100 m (T47) | 12.79 (+1.0 m/s) | 6 April 2019 | Sydney, Australia | NR[20] |
| 200 m (T47) | 26.73 (+0.8 m/s) | 27 October 2015 | Doha, Qatar | NR[20] |
| 400 m (T47) | 1:04.26 | 8 February 2015 | Hamilton, New Zealand | NR[20] |
Long jump seasonal bests
| Year | Performance | Competition | Location | Date | World ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 5.00 m | Weekly meeting | Dunedin, New Zealand | 20 December | |
| 2015 | 5.41 m | IPC Athletics World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 23 October | |
| 2016 | 5.62 m | Summer Paralympics | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 8 September | |
| 2017 | 5.58 m | New Zealand Championships | Hamilton, New Zealand | 18 March | |
| 2018 | |||||
| 2019 | 5.50 m | World Para Athletics Championships | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 9 November | |
| 2020 | 5.72 m | Twilight meeting | Dunedin, New Zealand | 22 October | |
| 5.77 m (w) | Interclub meeting | Dunedin, New Zealand | 31 October | ||
| 2021 | 5.91 m | Otago Championships | Dunedin, New Zealand | 14 February |
Source: Athletics New Zealand Records and Rankings[21]
References
External links
- Anna Grimaldi at World Athletics
- Anna Grimaldi at Paralympic.org
- Anna Grimaldi at IPC.InfostradaSports.com (archived)
- Anna Grimaldi at Paralympics New Zealand
- Anna Grimaldi at Athletics New Zealand
- Anna Grimaldi at Paralympics New Zealand (archive)
- Meet Our Paralympians: Anna Grimaldi – Attitude Live video profile
