Anna Grimaldi
Anna Grimaldi 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.
Personal life
Grimaldi was born in Dunedin to Tony and Di Grimaldi, and has one sister, Abby. She was born with a withered right forearm and no functional right hand. She attended Bayfield High School in Dunedin; she played netball and basketball for the school and in her final year was a sports prefect. Grimaldi studies quantity surveying at Otago Polytechnic.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". She is classified T47 for track events and long jump, and F46 for field events. 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. Grimaldi also placed fifth in the women's 200 metres T47 final.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. 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. She also 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.
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.
Grimaldi was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2017 New Year Honours, for her services to athletics.
Statistics
Personal bests
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 |