Paralympic athlete speaks out after winning bronze medal while 7 months pregnant
A British archer is celebrating a bronze medal win at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris while preparing to welcome her second child.
Jodie Grinham, who won bronze in the women's individual compound open on Aug. 31, competed while seven months pregnant.
The 31-year-old archer, who won a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Games, told The Guardian that she felt the baby moving while she was competing.
"The baby hasn't stopped [moving], the baby is saying, what are you doing?" Grinham told the outlet. "It's been a real honor to know that the baby is there and that little support bubble I've got in my belly."
Grinham added that she was worried the baby's movement would affect the extreme concentration and stillness needed in archery, so she and her coach practiced in advance.
"It was really starting to worry me that the baby was going to move when I was at full draw and it was going to affect my shot, but my coach and I spent a long time doing little pregnancy prep with her moving me and the bump so I could get used to that feeling," Grinham told The Guardian. "Even during matches today up at full draw I acknowledged it, 'mummy loves you, I'll cuddle you in a minute,' then carried on doing my processes. Then I gave him a little stroke afterwards and said it's all fine, I know it's a lot of noise, a lot of heartbeat."
In a separate interview, Grinham told BBC Sport that she is "really proud" of herself.
"I'm really proud of myself, I've had difficulties and it's not been easy," Grinham said, adding that she was closely monitored by doctors while in Paris. "But as long as I'm healthy and baby's healthy, I knew we could compete. I knew if I shot as well as I could I could come back with a medal."
While in Paris, Grinham was treated for what doctors thought could be early contractions before being given the OK to compete, according to the Paralympics' website.
Grinham gave birth to her older child, a son named Christian, in 2022, after previously experiencing miscarriages and fertility issues, according to the site.
"It's really weird when you're an athlete and you're a female, if you want children, it is a constant thing of 'when am I going to be able to time this?' Can I compete?" Grinham said.
During the Paris Olympic Games earlier this summer, a fencer from Egypt also revealed she was seven months pregnant.
Nada Hafez, competing in her third Olympics, shared the news on Instagram on July 29, captioning two photos of herself competing with the words, "7 MONTHS PREGNANT OLYMPIAN!"
"What appears to you as two players on the podium, they were actually three! It was me, my competitor, & my yet-to-come to our world, little baby!" Hafez wrote, later adding, "This specific Olympics was different; Three times *Olympian* but this time carrying a little Olympian one!"
