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Anna Grimaldi smashes Paralympic long jump record on way to gold

September 3, 2021
Anna Grimaldi competes in the women's long jump T45 final at Tokyo Paralympics

Kiwi long jumper Anna Grimaldi has defended her T47 title from Rio at the Tokyo Paralympics in style, smashing the record on her way to gold.

She set a new mark of 5.74m in her first leap, before going two centimetres better in her fourth.

It was short of her personal best of 5.91m, but was more than enough to hold off Aleksandra Moguchaia, of the Russian Paralympics Committee and Kiara Rodriguez, of Ecuador.

It was NZ's fifth gold medal of the games, and 11th in total. 

Anna Grimaldi has defended her title from Rio, setting a new Paralympic record in the process.

Afterwards, Grimaldi, who is 24 and for Dunedin, said: "I'm in a whirlwind. There has been so much that has gone into this for the past five years and I owe a lot to a lot of people. I hope I did them proud out there."

"The weather wasn't ideal, but I got stuck in. It has been a huge five years and I just feel the weight of the world has lifted off my shoulders.

"The plan was to go in with a safe jump and not foul my first jump, so I'm stoked that I didn't (and set a Paralympic record) and that helped me relax. But in saying that I was not that calm.

"The last couple of weeks have been pretty tough, I've been pretty nervous and the doubts and the stress had crept in.

"The confidence had dwindled but I was super lucky to have people around me to support that; my partner, my family and friends, HP support staff my mental skills trainer, the team psychologist. It has been not only a rollercoaster last five years but also a rollercoaster last four weeks.

"In Rio I won by accident but here I did it on purpose. I've changed as a person, and I hoped it is obvious to people watching how different I am. I'm really proud."

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