Paralympics: Anna Grimaldi's journey to self-belief

Anna Grimaldi has stood on top of the world not once but twice with two Paralympic gold medals in the women’s T47 long jump — but there was a time where she didn’t believe she was deserving of them.

"I struggled with that preconceived idea of what a high-performance athlete would look like, feel and sound like," she told 1News.

Grimaldi grew up looking different — she was born with a withered right forearm and no functional right hand.

She constantly had to brush off comments such as, "because she's disabled, she’s really good at that..."

But in 2016. she stunned the world as a fresh-faced 19-year-old, winning her first Paralympic gold in Rio.

"It changed my life for the better but also really tested me in ways that I never thought success would do," she said.

"It made me question whether or not I was good enough; whether I was the type of person that should be winning; or whether or not it was just a fluke."

That meant, for her, validation was all on the line five years later at the Tokyo Games. Grimaldi said she was painfully nervous.

"I was looking for places to throw up mid-competition," she said.

But Grimaldi set a new Paralympic record which no one could match, adding another gold medal to her collection. It still wasn’t enough.

"That gold was a shiny plaster for those feelings — plasters fall off eventually," she said.

"This one fell off incredibly quickly."

For the past three years, Grimaldi has been putting in the work, not just on the track, but most importantly on herself. She is returning to a full roster at the Paris Games, defending her T-47 long jump gold as well as bringing back the 100 metre and 200 metre sprints.

The last time she raced on the track was at Rio.

If she can bag another gold at this Paralympic Games, Grimaldi will become just the third Kiwi to win three consecutive gold medals at the Paralympic games in track and field.

And this time she has belief.

"You know what? I do deserve to be here," Grimaldi said with a smile.

"I'm really good at my job – I’m a Paralympian, I’m a two-time Paralympic champion and those achievements are always going to be there. I’m not going to lose them; they are separate and they're mine and no one can take them away."

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