September 7, 2024 • 10 mins
Anna Grimaldi's swiftly put long jump disappointment and her opponents behind her to win gold in the T47 200-metre final at the Paris Paralympics.
The Kiwi finished fourth in the defence of her long jump crown, before blitzing the field for a surprise 200 metre triumph a day later.
She joined D'Arcy Waldegrave to discuss her victory.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Fine
from newstalk EDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
We're gonna have a conversation with a woman who did
us all proud. She picked up the very first gold
medal at the Paralympics. She joins us. Now her name
is Ana Gramali and hang in there, take a listen
to this on.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
The inside the New Zealand.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
I see he's looking supremely good. She disappointed in the
long jim finishing in fourth position, but she's looking up
at the screen already. It's going to be Ana Gramaldi
who takes it. Britney Mason I think has taken.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
The silver medal.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
But what a performance from Anna Gramaldi. It is a
new Oceania record for Ana Gramaldi with a lifetime bearss
an Oceania record twenty four point seven too is the
champion in the T forty seven women's two hundred meters final.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Wow, and what as there was Anna. We are so
proud of you. A ripping time for you overnight. Of
course in the evening you said on time, first thing
this morning, this time around qualifying final itself, tearing away
for gold.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yeah you could.
Speaker 5 (01:23):
Oh, thanks for having me on it's actually been such
a crazy forty eight hours to me. Yeah, I could
see it on the big screen that I was in front,
and I knew that I wasn't going to let anyone
pass me.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
I wasn't.
Speaker 5 (01:35):
I wasn't running out of guess before the line. Yeah,
I couldn't hide.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
I haven't.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
I would be terrible playing poker because I would give
way quite a great hand, like immediately.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
So yeah, yeah, it's hard to keep it in though,
Haarlem mccham must be hard to keep it in.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
But there must have been a period when you got
out in front you went, anna, don't mess this up
from now?
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Yeah, there always is. I mean there's always an opportunity
to miss it up, and I think, yeah, I just knew.
Speaker 5 (02:03):
I just knew that, Like I had enough in me
to get that line, and I would have fought with
everything in my body to get there and to run
such a good time as well, Like I'm yeah, I'm
incredibly I'm just proud of that alone. I would have
been over the moon with just that time and for
it to be a gold is incredible.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
And Oceania record, I believe in oh so close to
a world record too.
Speaker 5 (02:27):
No, I can't believe that actually that time, that that
time's crazy, like the time from this morning. I was
incredibly shocked and like proud with that, And then I
knew that I'd slowed down, And so I guess just
trusting that I had to give everything tonight and that
I could give everything I'd trained for this, and I
knew that I me as a person, my personality wouldn't
(02:49):
even let this opportunity.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
To get away without giving it a really good crack.
And yeah, that's what we did.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
So you knew toward the end that you were winning
the race? What about around the beam? Did that flick
through your thought? Like, hold on, I'm in the lead here?
Talk us through that period?
Speaker 5 (03:06):
Yeah, for sure, I think, like to be honest, like
we were talking about it in the middle area and
we were saying like we could have been the only
ones on the track, Like it felt like it was silent,
but I know it was so loud because the crowd
is incredible, And I think, yeah, I think I knew
just as we were coming off the ben that I
was in the front. But it's like, not a time
to get complacent. These girls have probably ran far more
(03:27):
twos than I have, and I also didn't really know
what my body was capable of. I knew that it
could blow up, like I'm used to running thirty minus
six times and with a jump at the end, and
so you never know, like am I going to make
it to the end, But you know, I knew I
was and with a shot. If I could get in
the lead heading onto the straight, or even not in
(03:47):
the lead, if I could be up near the leader,
I'd have a shot at winning.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah, Paralympic could turn to meet a gold Medalistan Grimaldi
joining us tell us about the time between when the
qualifying finished and the race itself actually started. That would
have been a very interesting period to be in Nuoy.
What did you go through?
Speaker 5 (04:08):
Yeah, I think it's been funny because I haven't really
ran that mini two's. I ran them earlier on in
my career, and then I broke my foot the last
time I tried to run one professionally at the game
at a World Champs, and we decided I'd never do
them again.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
So she just threw it out of my mind.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
And then last year's World Champs rolled around and I
remember watching the final and going, you know what, I
think it's time to have that conversation about maybe doing
the two hundred again, and my coach was fully on board,
and I think this morning I was quite nervous because
I did she didn't know what I was capable of running.
I mean, I knew I was probably a pretty good
enough after.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
That hundred, and to be the now in.
Speaker 5 (04:50):
A position after that after that first race, I think
it just instilled a lot of confidence in me that
I knew that put me in a race with anyone,
and I will fight till I can't fight anymore to
get to the line. And yeah, I mean I just
think it relaxed me because I now knew how five
second I could run, and.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
Yeah, and then man faster again, which is even crazier.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
What happens now? Do you drop everything else and just
become a SOL two hundred meters specialist?
Speaker 4 (05:20):
Yeah? I don't know. No, I don't know at the moment.
Speaker 5 (05:22):
I'm on holiday already and I'll be obviously all.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Reflect on everything.
Speaker 5 (05:29):
I mean, the long Jim yesterday was really hard for
me because that's my bread and butter. That's what I
love to do and what I'm good at as well,
and it was just hard to not be able to
show up the way I wanted to yesterday. But oh
I got so many incredible, incredibly supporting and loving comments
yesterday and messages and just from people I don't even know,
(05:51):
just saying how proud of.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
Me they were.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
And I think that really spurred me on for this,
hearing that everyone you know still was interested in me,
still believed in me, regardless of how I did in
the long jump.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
So yeah, after that long jump, you'd be harder on
yourself than anybody possibly could be. So when you went
into the tourn of meters, was it a case of
revenge for the long jump jumping through your mind?
Speaker 5 (06:19):
I did say revenge, and I mean I wanted revenge
on the two hundred race. The last two races I ran,
I ran in Rio and I stepped on the line
and got disqualified. And then my last two hundred race
at a Champs was in London the year after, and
and and.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
I broke my foot.
Speaker 5 (06:38):
I mean I'd been having trouble with my foot, but
it really gave out mid race.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
And so I knew I.
Speaker 5 (06:43):
Loved doing the two hundred back then, and I knew
I wanted to eventually do it, but we did just
take it off the cards, like we decided, we decided
to we decided to.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
Not run it ever again, Like that was it. We'd
signed it off.
Speaker 5 (06:56):
And I think being able to be in a position
I trust some body enough to handle the training and
to handle being out there on the track and running
the bend, I think, yeah, I wanted some revenge and
that it had been mean to me, and I wanted
I wanted to get it back.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
You've had a pretty successful games and a grimordy so far.
The gold obviously the cherry on the top at the
end of that, but looking back at the whole process
and the whole games, I expect you you carry that
quite lightly. You'd be absolutely stoked.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
Yeah, for sure, I'm so. I'm so happy.
Speaker 5 (07:30):
I mean, I would be incredibly happy regardless of the
outcome tonight.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Like I've put I've put forward.
Speaker 5 (07:37):
I put myself out there more than I ever have before,
and that hundred was more than I could.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
Have hoped for.
Speaker 5 (07:44):
And then today to be able to back it, and
with two TVs and the two like two massive TVs,
it was just, Yeah, I'm really happy with how I
performed it and to be able to puck up from yesterday.
I don't think disappointed is the right word. And yesterday
I'll have to figure out what I how I feel
about that, probably on a bitch somewhere on holiday, but well, yeah,
(08:09):
just how I was able to get back in there
today and didn't let it discourage me.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
I think, Yeah, I'm really proud.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
That we'll let you go shortly, Anna, and go and
celebrate with your friends and your family, your Paralympic family
and on. That enormously important for yourself to pick up
the medals, but I'd expect just as important, if not more,
for the team themselves.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Yeah, I'm so.
Speaker 5 (08:33):
I feel so lucky to be part of such an
awesome team. The vibe in the village is incredible. Everyone
is wanting to see Rondo so well, and it has been
so supportive of even me yesterday when I.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
Didn't do so well.
Speaker 5 (08:46):
And yeah, I can't wait to celebrate with them, especially
tomorrow at the closing. And being not a ship, I
just think that's the best thing about being successful is
or even getting to compete at this level, is getting
to share it with other people. And the games, the
Paralympic Games are the most incredible thing.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
They changed my life. I was I did. Yes, I
don't know, there's something's visual.
Speaker 5 (09:09):
I hope they change other people's lives too, because it's yeah,
it's changed mine.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Thanks for joining us, and we're celebrating for you back
here in ok Tiroa. You enjoy your time off knowing
that you've got no rocks under your beach style. Thank
you very much for pairing on the program and for
doing what you did in Paris.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Thanks for joining us. Such delight, such joy, and Grimaldi
there who are not only picked up the one hundred
meter bronze in the T forty seven this morning, it
was around about five o'clock picked up the T forty
seven two hundred gold and by quite the margin makes
up for the fourth and the long jump of course,
(09:50):
two time defending Paralympic champion in that it's a discipline,
but it's all okay. Now she's picked up the gold.
What a time she's had quick text on that as well.
So happy for Energy's win, but an amazing interview after
the long jump will be my enduring memory of these games.
She has a massive ticker, Andy, thanks very much for that.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Text for more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine. Listen
live to News Talk set B weekends from midday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Fine
from newstalk EDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
We're gonna have a conversation with a woman who did
us all proud. She picked up the very first gold
medal at the Paralympics. She joins us. Now her name
is Ana Gramali and hang in there, take a listen
to this on.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
The inside the New Zealand.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
I see he's looking supremely good. She disappointed in the
long jim finishing in fourth position, but she's looking up
at the screen already. It's going to be Ana Gramaldi
who takes it. Britney Mason I think has taken.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
The silver medal.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
But what a performance from Anna Gramaldi. It is a
new Oceania record for Ana Gramaldi with a lifetime bearss
an Oceania record twenty four point seven too is the
champion in the T forty seven women's two hundred meters final.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Wow, and what as there was Anna. We are so
proud of you. A ripping time for you overnight. Of
course in the evening you said on time, first thing
this morning, this time around qualifying final itself, tearing away
for gold.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yeah you could.
Speaker 5 (01:23):
Oh, thanks for having me on it's actually been such
a crazy forty eight hours to me. Yeah, I could
see it on the big screen that I was in front,
and I knew that I wasn't going to let anyone
pass me.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
I wasn't.
Speaker 5 (01:35):
I wasn't running out of guess before the line. Yeah,
I couldn't hide.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
I haven't.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
I would be terrible playing poker because I would give
way quite a great hand, like immediately.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
So yeah, yeah, it's hard to keep it in though,
Haarlem mccham must be hard to keep it in.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
But there must have been a period when you got
out in front you went, anna, don't mess this up
from now?
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Yeah, there always is. I mean there's always an opportunity
to miss it up, and I think, yeah, I just knew.
Speaker 5 (02:03):
I just knew that, Like I had enough in me
to get that line, and I would have fought with
everything in my body to get there and to run
such a good time as well, Like I'm yeah, I'm
incredibly I'm just proud of that alone. I would have
been over the moon with just that time and for
it to be a gold is incredible.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
And Oceania record, I believe in oh so close to
a world record too.
Speaker 5 (02:27):
No, I can't believe that actually that time, that that
time's crazy, like the time from this morning. I was
incredibly shocked and like proud with that, And then I
knew that I'd slowed down, And so I guess just
trusting that I had to give everything tonight and that
I could give everything I'd trained for this, and I
knew that I me as a person, my personality wouldn't
(02:49):
even let this opportunity.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
To get away without giving it a really good crack.
And yeah, that's what we did.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
So you knew toward the end that you were winning
the race? What about around the beam? Did that flick
through your thought? Like, hold on, I'm in the lead here?
Talk us through that period?
Speaker 5 (03:06):
Yeah, for sure, I think, like to be honest, like
we were talking about it in the middle area and
we were saying like we could have been the only
ones on the track, Like it felt like it was silent,
but I know it was so loud because the crowd
is incredible, And I think, yeah, I think I knew
just as we were coming off the ben that I
was in the front. But it's like, not a time
to get complacent. These girls have probably ran far more
(03:27):
twos than I have, and I also didn't really know
what my body was capable of. I knew that it
could blow up, like I'm used to running thirty minus
six times and with a jump at the end, and
so you never know, like am I going to make
it to the end, But you know, I knew I
was and with a shot. If I could get in
the lead heading onto the straight, or even not in
(03:47):
the lead, if I could be up near the leader,
I'd have a shot at winning.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah, Paralympic could turn to meet a gold Medalistan Grimaldi
joining us tell us about the time between when the
qualifying finished and the race itself actually started. That would
have been a very interesting period to be in Nuoy.
What did you go through?
Speaker 5 (04:08):
Yeah, I think it's been funny because I haven't really
ran that mini two's. I ran them earlier on in
my career, and then I broke my foot the last
time I tried to run one professionally at the game
at a World Champs, and we decided I'd never do
them again.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
So she just threw it out of my mind.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
And then last year's World Champs rolled around and I
remember watching the final and going, you know what, I
think it's time to have that conversation about maybe doing
the two hundred again, and my coach was fully on board,
and I think this morning I was quite nervous because
I did she didn't know what I was capable of running.
I mean, I knew I was probably a pretty good
enough after.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
That hundred, and to be the now in.
Speaker 5 (04:50):
A position after that after that first race, I think
it just instilled a lot of confidence in me that
I knew that put me in a race with anyone,
and I will fight till I can't fight anymore to
get to the line. And yeah, I mean I just
think it relaxed me because I now knew how five
second I could run, and.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
Yeah, and then man faster again, which is even crazier.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
What happens now? Do you drop everything else and just
become a SOL two hundred meters specialist?
Speaker 4 (05:20):
Yeah? I don't know. No, I don't know at the moment.
Speaker 5 (05:22):
I'm on holiday already and I'll be obviously all.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Reflect on everything.
Speaker 5 (05:29):
I mean, the long Jim yesterday was really hard for
me because that's my bread and butter. That's what I
love to do and what I'm good at as well,
and it was just hard to not be able to
show up the way I wanted to yesterday. But oh
I got so many incredible, incredibly supporting and loving comments
yesterday and messages and just from people I don't even know,
(05:51):
just saying how proud of.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
Me they were.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
And I think that really spurred me on for this,
hearing that everyone you know still was interested in me,
still believed in me, regardless of how I did in
the long jump.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
So yeah, after that long jump, you'd be harder on
yourself than anybody possibly could be. So when you went
into the tourn of meters, was it a case of
revenge for the long jump jumping through your mind?
Speaker 5 (06:19):
I did say revenge, and I mean I wanted revenge
on the two hundred race. The last two races I ran,
I ran in Rio and I stepped on the line
and got disqualified. And then my last two hundred race
at a Champs was in London the year after, and
and and.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
I broke my foot.
Speaker 5 (06:38):
I mean I'd been having trouble with my foot, but
it really gave out mid race.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
And so I knew I.
Speaker 5 (06:43):
Loved doing the two hundred back then, and I knew
I wanted to eventually do it, but we did just
take it off the cards, like we decided, we decided
to we decided to.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
Not run it ever again, Like that was it. We'd
signed it off.
Speaker 5 (06:56):
And I think being able to be in a position
I trust some body enough to handle the training and
to handle being out there on the track and running
the bend, I think, yeah, I wanted some revenge and
that it had been mean to me, and I wanted
I wanted to get it back.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
You've had a pretty successful games and a grimordy so far.
The gold obviously the cherry on the top at the
end of that, but looking back at the whole process
and the whole games, I expect you you carry that
quite lightly. You'd be absolutely stoked.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
Yeah, for sure, I'm so. I'm so happy.
Speaker 5 (07:30):
I mean, I would be incredibly happy regardless of the
outcome tonight.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Like I've put I've put forward.
Speaker 5 (07:37):
I put myself out there more than I ever have before,
and that hundred was more than I could.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
Have hoped for.
Speaker 5 (07:44):
And then today to be able to back it, and
with two TVs and the two like two massive TVs,
it was just, Yeah, I'm really happy with how I
performed it and to be able to puck up from yesterday.
I don't think disappointed is the right word. And yesterday
I'll have to figure out what I how I feel
about that, probably on a bitch somewhere on holiday, but well, yeah,
(08:09):
just how I was able to get back in there
today and didn't let it discourage me.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
I think, Yeah, I'm really proud.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
That we'll let you go shortly, Anna, and go and
celebrate with your friends and your family, your Paralympic family
and on. That enormously important for yourself to pick up
the medals, but I'd expect just as important, if not more,
for the team themselves.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Yeah, I'm so.
Speaker 5 (08:33):
I feel so lucky to be part of such an
awesome team. The vibe in the village is incredible. Everyone
is wanting to see Rondo so well, and it has been
so supportive of even me yesterday when I.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
Didn't do so well.
Speaker 5 (08:46):
And yeah, I can't wait to celebrate with them, especially
tomorrow at the closing. And being not a ship, I
just think that's the best thing about being successful is
or even getting to compete at this level, is getting
to share it with other people. And the games, the
Paralympic Games are the most incredible thing.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
They changed my life. I was I did. Yes, I
don't know, there's something's visual.
Speaker 5 (09:09):
I hope they change other people's lives too, because it's yeah,
it's changed mine.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Thanks for joining us, and we're celebrating for you back
here in ok Tiroa. You enjoy your time off knowing
that you've got no rocks under your beach style. Thank
you very much for pairing on the program and for
doing what you did in Paris.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Thanks for joining us. Such delight, such joy, and Grimaldi
there who are not only picked up the one hundred
meter bronze in the T forty seven this morning, it
was around about five o'clock picked up the T forty
seven two hundred gold and by quite the margin makes
up for the fourth and the long jump of course,
(09:50):
two time defending Paralympic champion in that it's a discipline,
but it's all okay. Now she's picked up the gold.
What a time she's had quick text on that as well.
So happy for Energy's win, but an amazing interview after
the long jump will be my enduring memory of these games.
She has a massive ticker, Andy, thanks very much for that.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Text for more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine. Listen
live to News Talk set B weekends from midday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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