Anna Grimaldi

Anna Grimaldi MNZM (born 12 February 1997) is a New Zealand para-athlete, primarily competing in the long jump and sprint events. She represented New Zealand at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, winning the gold medal in the women's long jump T47.[1]

Anna Grimaldi
MNZM
Grimaldi in 2017
Personal information
Born (1997-02-12) 12 February 1997
Dunedin, New Zealand
Sport
CountryNew Zealand
SportAthletics
Disability classT47, F46
Event(s)
ClubAthletics Taieri
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  New Zealand
Summer Paralympics
2016 Rio de JaneiroLong jump T47
IPC Athletics World Championships
2019 DubaiLong jump T47
2015 DohaLong jump T47

Personal life

Grimaldi was born in Dunedin to Tony and Di Grimaldi, and has one sister, Abby.[2] She was born with a withered right forearm and no functional right hand.[3][4] She attended Bayfield High School in Dunedin; she played netball and basketball for the school and in her final year was a sports prefect.[3][5] Grimaldi studies quantity surveying at Otago Polytechnic.[6]

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".[3][4] She is classified T47 for track events and long jump, and F46 for field events.[7] She won her first international competition medal, a 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.[8] Grimaldi also placed fifth in the women's 200 metres T47 final.[9]

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.[10] 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][11] She also placed fourth in the women's 100 metres T47 final,[12] and competed in the 200 metres T47 where she was disqualified in the heat for a lane infringement.[13]

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. Grimaldi's foot injury was later discovered to be caused by a stress fracture in her left navicular bone.[14]

Grimaldi was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2017 New Year Honours, for her services to athletics.[15]

Statistics

Personal bests
Event Result (wind) Date Location Notes
Long jump (T47) 5.62 (+0.6 m/s) 8 September 2016 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil NR[11][16]
100 m (T47) 12.86 (+1.3 m/s) 17 June 2017 Townsville, Australia NR[16]
200 m (T47) 26.73 (+0.8 m/s) 27 October 2015 Doha, Qatar NR[16]
400 m (T47) 1:04.26 8 February 2015 Hamilton, New Zealand NR[16]

Long jump seasonal bests
Year Performance Competition Location Date World
ranking
2014 5.00 m 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

References
  1. "Paralympic gold for Kiwi long jumper". Newshub. 9 September 2016. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  2. Cheshire, Jeff (10 September 2016). "Grimaldi's our golden girl". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  3. McMurran, Alistair (28 May 2014). "Grimaldi fast out of the blocks". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  4. Leggat, David (7 September 2015). "Paralympics: Grimaldi shaping up as future star". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  5. Searle, Jamie (4 September 2014). "Bayfield teen's single-handed determination". The Southland Times. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  6. Pearson, Joseph (1 September 2016). "Rio Paralympics 2016: Anna Grimaldi leaps on to world stage after bronze in Doha". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  7. "Classification Master List, Summer Season 2016 – New Zealand". IPC Athletics. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  8. "Results – Women's long jump T47 final – 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships" (PDF). International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  9. "Results – Women's 200 metres T47 final – 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  10. "Paralympics New Zealand name six track and field athletes for Rio". Stuff.co.nz. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  11. "Results – Women's long jump T47 final – Rio 2016 Paralympic Games" (PDF). International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  12. "Results – Women's 100 metres T47 final – Rio 2016 Paralympic Games" (PDF). International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  13. "Results – Women's 200 metres T47 heat 2 – Rio 2016 Paralympic Games" (PDF). International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  14. Cheshire, Jeff (21 September 2017). "Stress fracture in foot 'huge shock' for Grimaldi". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  15. "New Year Honours List 2017". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  16. "New Zealand Para-Athletics Records" (PDF). Athletics New Zealand. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
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