Anna Grimaldi

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Anna Grimaldi
Anna Grimaldi (cropped).jpg
Grimaldi in 2017
Personal information
Born (1997-02-12) 12 February 1997 (age 26)
Dunedin, New Zealand
Sport
CountryNew Zealand
Sport Para athletics
Disability class T47, F46
Event(s)
ClubHill City-University
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
Summer Paralympics
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2016 Rio de Janeiro Long jump T47
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2020 Tokyo Long jump T47
World Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2019 Dubai Long jump T47
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2023 Paris Long jump T47
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2015 Doha Long jump T47
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2023 Paris 100 m T47

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]

Contents

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

EventResult (wind)DateLocationNotes
Long jump (T47)5.91 (+1.8 m/s)14 February 2021Dunedin, New ZealandNR [20]
100 m (T47)12.79 (+1.0 m/s)6 April 2019 Sydney, AustraliaNR [20]
200 m (T47)26.73 (+0.8 m/s)27 October 2015 Doha, QatarNR [20]
400 m (T47)1:04.268 February 2015 Hamilton, New ZealandNR [20]

Long jump seasonal bests

YearPerformanceCompetitionLocationDateWorld
ranking
20145.00 mWeekly meeting Dunedin, New Zealand20 December
20155.41 m IPC Athletics World Championships Doha, Qatar23 October
20165.62 m Summer Paralympics Rio de Janeiro, Brazil8 September
20175.58 mNew Zealand Championships Hamilton, New Zealand18 March
2018
20195.50 m World Para Athletics Championships Dubai, United Arab Emirates9 November
20205.72 mTwilight meeting Dunedin, New Zealand22 October
5.77 m (w)Interclub meeting Dunedin, New Zealand31 October
20215.91 mOtago Championships Dunedin, New Zealand14 February

Source: Athletics New Zealand Records and Rankings [21]

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References

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