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Double Paralympic long jump champion Anna Grimaldi earned her first ever global track medal to join teammate William Stedman on the podium at the Paris 2023 Para Athletics World Championships.
Stedman went one better than 2019 when winning a silver medal in the 400 metre T36 final at the Para Athletics World Championships.
Stedman, who won bronze in the same event four years ago, trailed home Australian James Turner in Paris on Tuesday night (NZT).
Then Grimaldi secured a dazzling bronze medal in the women’s 100m T47 on Wednesday morning (NZT).
The 26-year-old Dunedin-based athlete had hinted at her ability to bust the podium in the heats on Tuesday after hacking 0.29 from her national record and setting an Oceania record of 12.31, and when it counted most, she backed up that performance in style.
Making a solid start, Grimaldi sat third for much of the final – behind Kiara Rodriguez of Ecuador and defending champion Brittni Mason. Maintaining good form throughout, Grimaldi repelled a late charge from Saska Sokolov of Serbia to breast the line in 12.32 – within 0.01 of her lifetime best and on to a most welcome podium.
Athletics NZ/Supplied
William Stedman with the New Zealand flag after his bronze medal in a 400m event at the 2023 Paris Para World Athletics Championships.
Rodriguez earned gold in a PB of 12.17 to dethrone Mason of her crown – the American settling for silver in 12.24.
After crossing the line an ecstatic Grimaldi sprinted to the jubilant Kiwi team in the grandstand where World shot put F37 champion Lisa Adams gave the Kiwi bronze medallist a warm embrace.
“With about 70m to go my mouth opened and it was ‘Oh my God’ I’m in third,’’ Grimaldi said. “I wasn’t expecting to be in the hunt for a medal, I was ranked ninth coming into this and I thought maybe yesterday (and setting an Oceania record) was a fluke. I’m not a 100m runner I’m a long jumper, but I guess now I’m sort of a 100m runner.”
On what has made the difference and why the New Zealand athlete has made such a giant leap forward in the 100m she said: “There has been so many risks I have taken in the past eight months. I have a new coach [Mike Jacobs] and my training environment has changed. I came to Europe early to do a long pre-camp and it has been a process of falling back in love with the sport and understanding the opportunities athletics gives me. It is more than just training hard, there is so much fun to be had and so many cool experiences. Taking all that in has made me more confident.”
On the long jump T47 final which takes place on Sunday she said: “It is going to be epic. It will feature the first (Rodriguez) and third from the 100m. Speed is a massive part of the long jump, it is my biggest asset and I could feel the last couple of weeks when practising long jump it was getting harder to take off which usually means I’m running fast.”
In a momentous session for New Zealand sprinting, Danielle Aitchison produced an imperious performance in heat one of the women’s 100m T36 to equal the championship record in 13.68 and shatter her Oceania record with a dazzling display.
The 21-year-old Hamilton-based athlete, who collected Paralympic bronze in this event in Tokyo, blasted out of the blocks and running with poise and style wiped 0.13 from the Oceania record she set in Townsville last month.
A further measure of the quality of the performance is Aitchison come within 0.07 of the world record of Yiteng Shi of China and she finished nearly a full second clear of the second place finisher, Araceli Rotela of Argentina (14.66).
Aitchison comfortable topped the qualifiers for the final which takes place on Thursday at 6.16am with Shi, the current World and Paralympic champion, the second quickest in taking out heat two in a time of 14.46.
Auckland-based New Zealand sprinter Mitch Joynt finished seventh in a high-quality heat two of the men’s 100m T64, clocking 12.06. The 28-year-old will now focus his energy on his specialist event – the men’s 200m T64 – which takes place next Tuesday.
Stedman stoked
Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images
William Stedman has continued his consistent form in global para athletics meets. (File photo).
Meanwhile, Christchurch-based Stedman was delighted with his first 400m silver medal.
“I’m really happy with how I ran, especially the first half of the race, which I’ve had some trouble executing. It was the closest I’ve been to him (Turner) with 100m to go but I didn’t quite have the strength in the final straight.
“It is satisfying to win silver (after three previous global 400m bronze medals). I’m really happy to run my second fastest time ever, and to be able to perform on the day at a major championship, when it counts.”
Stedman made a fast start – running from lane three – in the final but when the field ran into the home straight, it was the Australian with a sizeable lead.
Turner, the Paralympic champion from Tokyo, finished in a time of 52.26 seconds, ahead of Stedman, in 53.62 and the bronze medal winner Alexis Sebastian Chavez, representing Argentina, who ran home in 54.57.
Stedman also finished third in the same event at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.
Tuesday’s result was Stedman’s best finish in the 400m at a world championship but he previously won silver in the T36 800m at the 2017 event.
Stedman, who also competes in the long jump and dramatically won silver after being sixth going into his final leap in Tokyo, will be back in action in that discipline at 5.25am on Thursday (NZT).
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