Anna Grimaldi

Started: She took up athletics at age 16 in Dunedin, New Zealand. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019) Reason: In 2013 she attended a camp for athletes with an impairment in Dunedin, New Zealand. "I was pretty reluctant to go. I thought I was going to be shocking. It was scary going there. I felt kind of out of place, like a complete newbie. They all had some form of training and knew what they were doing, but I wasn't as terrible as I first thought." (nzherald.co.nz, 07 Sep 2015; odt.co.nz, 28 May 2014) Ambition: To win gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (s-kin.com.au, 02 Dec 2021; newsroom.co.nz, 17 Oct 2023) Awards: She and swimmer Cameron Leslie were named flag bearers for New Zealand for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (odt.co.nz, 25 Jul 2024) She was named Junior Sportswoman of the Year at the 2017 Otago Sports Awards in New Zealand. (sportotago.co.nz, 01 May 2017) In 2017 she was named Para Athlete of the Year, Senior Summer Athlete of the Year and Otago Athlete of the Year at the Athletics Otago Awards in New Zealand. (odt.co.nz, 04 May 2017) She was named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit [MNZM] in the 2017 New Year's Honours list in recognition of her services to athletics. (odt.co.nz, 31 Dec 2016) Additional Info: 100M WORLDS MEDAL She won a bronze medal in the T47 100m at the 2023 World Championships in Paris, France. All of her previous world championship and Paralympic medals had come in the long jump. "With about 70m to go my mouth opened and it was, 'Oh my god, I'm in third'. I wasn't expecting to be in the hunt for a medal. I'm not a 100m runner, I'm a long jumper, but I guess now I'm sort of a 100m runner. Speed is a massive part of the long jump, it is my biggest asset and I could feel the last couple of weeks [ahead of the 2023 World Championships] when practising long jump it was getting harder to take off which usually means I'm running fast." (1news.co.nz, 12 Jul 2023) DIFFICULT YEAR She has described 2022 as one of the low points of her career, as she had mental struggles and doubts about her abilities. "Sometimes it's hard to see the wood from the trees. I guess I really struggled over last year [speaking in 2023] to feel confident and happy in my training and where I'm at. It's become more apparent how important it is to enjoy it and all the experiences that come with it. I questioned whether or not I was good enough, whether I deserved this success, whether I felt like I had a place in the sport for me to go further. It was definitely a low point. I saw a psychologist, and got some help which has been incredible. I feel really excited now about however long my career is. Whereas it felt incredibly daunting and scary last year [2022], I feel really good now, really excited." (stuff.co.nz, 02 Jul 2023) PROSTHESIS In 2018 she began using a new attachment for her right arm, which was provided by High Performance Sport New Zealand. The prosthesis is designed to balance out the weight in her upper body, as the left side of her body is naturally heavier because she was born without her right hand. "Athletics is a sport of symmetry and I'm not symmetrical, so I thought I should try to even that out a bit. It's been difficult getting used to it. It was difficult at the start, but now it feels kind of natural. Your legs follow what your arms do and to not have that weight and momentum from my right arm may impact [my performance]. It's definitely feeling like it will be helpful and it's helping with the mechanics of running now." (odt.co.nz, 12 Dec 2018) OCCUPATION She has worked as a quantity surveyor. (stuff.co.nz, 02 Jul 2023)