A Paralympic hopeful says she is “extremely prepared” to compete in her second games – while 28 weeks pregnant.
Jodie Grinham says she hopes to show women everywhere what is possible during pregnancy as she heads to Paris to compete in compound archery for ParalympicsGB.
Jodie, 30, will be competing in her second games having taken home silver in the mixed team competition in the Rio 2016 games.
The mum-of-one, who lives in Crawley, said: “It’s a very different experience for me this time around.
“You’ve got the athlete in me who’s relieved, excited and extremely prepared and then you’ve also got the mummy in me that’s going to miss home, miss my son and will be 28 weeks pregnant when competing in Paris.
“I would love to bring a medal back like I did in Rio. To get on the podium, not just for myself and the performances I’ve done, but for women to show you can compete while pregnant and do well.”
Jodie, originally from Wales, gave birth to her son, Christian, in October 2022 and is now expecting her second child.
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Jodie was born with Brachysyndactyly, a condition which means has a shortened left arm, underdeveloped left shoulder and no fingers and half a thumb on her left hand.
She will be competing in her second games having taken silver with John Stubbs in the compound mixed team event at the Rio De Janeiro Paralympics in 2016.
She has been selected for France alongside Tokyo gold medallist Phoebe Paterson Pine, Nathan MacQueen, who will be appearing at his third Games, and debutant Victoria Kingstone.
Jodie’s Paralympic Games will begin on August 29, when she competed in the Women’s compound archery opening round.
If she makes it to the medal matches, she could win a gold medal on August 31.
The Paralympics Games kick off on August 28.