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12 Facts About Anna Grimaldi

1.

Anna Grimaldi was born on 12 February 1997 and is a New Zealand para-athlete, primarily competing in the long jump and sprint events.

2.

Anna Grimaldi 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.

3.

Anna Grimaldi was born with a withered right forearm and no functional right hand.

4.

Anna Grimaldi attended Bayfield High School in Dunedin; she played netball and basketball for the school and in her final year was a sports prefect.

5.

Anna Grimaldi started para-athletics after attending a Paralympic talent identification event in October 2013.

6.

Anna Grimaldi initially was reluctant to attend, having had no formal athletics training and fearing she would be "shocking".

7.

Anna Grimaldi is classified T47 for track events and long jump, and F46 for field events.

8.

Anna Grimaldi 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.

9.

Anna Grimaldi was officially confirmed to represent New Zealand at the Paralympics on 23 May 2016.

10.

Anna Grimaldi placed fourth in the women's 100 metres T47 final, and competed in the 200 metres T47 where she was disqualified in the heat for a lane infringement.

11.

Anna Grimaldi placed fourth in the long jump, missing the medals by one centimetre.

12.

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