Expecting a child, and a medal

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Perfectly still, that’s what archers want to be as they stand on the spot, ready to release the arrow. They try and tame the racing heart, control the breathing, quieten the mind and cajole every muscle into sync.

There was something else Jodie Grinham had to take care of as she competed in the bronze medal match in the women’s individual compound archery event at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. “The baby’s kicking, which is great—we got to the third end and I was like, ‘Not right now, mommy loves you but we’ll do kickies in a minute," British archer Grinham, who was seven months pregnant during the mega-event, told paralympic.org. “It’s like the baby is going, ‘What’s going on, it’s really loud, mommy, what are you doing?’ But it’s been like a little honour knowing that the baby’s there and just a reminder of the little support bubble that I’ve got in my tummy." Grinham became the first openly pregnant Paralympic medallist as she edged Phoebe Paterson Pine 142-141 for the bronze.

But the 31-year-old wasn’t the only one with a baby on the way to compete at this year’s Olympics and Paralympics. Azerbaijan’s Yaylagul Ramazanova competed in women’s recurve archery while six-and-a-half months pregnant and felt her baby kick before she shot a 10 to win the 1/32 round. Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez revealed that she was seven months pregnant during the Olympics.