This article references baby loss.
Archery always involves staying calm and steady under pressure. But in the buildup to the Paris Paralympics this summer, British archer Jodie Grinham added an extra element to her training, as she told The Athletic.
Sometimes, when she was in full draw position ready to shoot, her coach would tickle or brush her side.
That’s because, when the Paralympic silver medalist competed in the first round of the women’s individual compound event on August 29, she was 28 weeks pregnant. Those “pregnancy prep sessions” were designed to test her stability and focus despite any moves the baby might make.
“I’ve felt a really good kick just before I’m about to shoot, and I just think: It’s all right, Mummy knows you’re there,” Grinham told The Athletic.
Despite the potential extra distractions, Grinham – with bright pink hair that matched her bow – sailed through today’s ranking rounds in fourth place with a personal best score of 693. She’ll take on the first elimination round on August 30.
Grinham believes she’s the first person to compete at the Paralympics this late in pregnancy, making her appearance at the Esplanade des Invalides today a milestone in itself—regardless of what happens later in the event. “I will have achieved something that no one else can say they’ve done,” she told The Athletic. “(But) I’m not doing any of it for a statement, I’m doing it for me. If that is enough for people to say, ‘Why can’t we?’ then fantastic.”
Grinham was born in Wales with a condition called brachysyndactyly, which affects the left side of her body. Her left arm is short, her left shoulder isn’t fully developed, and her left hand has no fingers and half a thumb, according to Archery GB.
She started archery in 2008, working with her father on a way to grip the bow. Clearly her methods have worked: In 2016 she won a silver medal at the Rio Paralympics in the mixed team compound with teammate John Stubbs. Last year, she won the World Para Archery compound open women’s doubles championship.
Many elite athletes plan their pregnancies around huge events like the Paralympics or Olympics. But Grinham and her partner, Christopher Greenan, chose to pursue having a baby now even though she knew it might mean she’d be far along by the time she got to Paris, she told Times Radio.
“Quite frankly, I wasn’t going to stop having a family for the sake of the Games. I believe that we should be able to have both,” she said.
Starting a family has been challenging. The 31-year-old has one child already, a son named Christian, who was born in October 2022. She was sick throughout her pregnancy, on bed rest by 16 weeks, and went into premature labor at 28 weeks, per The Athletic. Medications delayed Christian’s birth by another nine weeks, but he still spent 10 days in an incubator afterward.
She’s also lost three pregnancies. “We didn’t know if we were even going to be able to conceive another one. This might not ever happen for us,” she told The Athletic. “Getting pregnant is not as easy as people believe. It’s not that simple.”
Fortunately, she’s made it through to this stage in good health and able to continue high-level competition, thanks in part to the support of Archery GB and coach Charlotte Burgess, a former Olympic archer and a mother herself. “I think it is a milestone to show how far we have come as a country to be able to support someone and not go ‘You shouldn’t be doing this.’ For women, it is incredible,” Grinham told BBC Sport.
In addition to the kicking drills, there are a few other ways Grinham’s training has shifted. She often needs a nap in the middle of her 12-hour training days, she told Newsweek.
In addition, the quiver that holds her arrows no longer fit around her waist, so she got a belt to extend it, she told BBC Sport. She has to wear it lower, which changes how she lifts and holds the bow as well, according to The Athletic.
But despite those modifications, she’s heading into the Games confident in her skills and prepared for every possible outcome. “My team have joked a few times that my waters could just break on the podium,” she told The Athletic. Or the baby might kick and lose her gold, though as she told Newsweek, “if I don’t bring a medal home, I get an amazing prize at the end of this anyway.”
Besides, no matter the outcome, the pursuit of both dreams will have been worth it, she told BBC Sport. “I love every minute of having my career and love every minute of being a mum. Why should I have to do it separately?” she said.
For information and support on baby loss, visit tommys.org.
This article was originally published on SELF.
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