The Dunedin Paralympic champion has been at the top of her game for the past 10 years, and the support only continues to grow.
The Paralympic movement caught real traction after Rio in 2016, when the athletics contingent returned home with eight medals — including Liam Malone’s double gold, Grimaldi’s maiden long jump gold and Dunedin javelin thrower Holly Robinson’s silver.
Grimaldi and Robinson continued to wave the flag in Tokyo in 2021, winning gold in the long jump and javelin respectively, while shot putter Lisa Adams and sprinters Danielle Aitchison and Will Stedman collected silverware in New Zealand’s seven-medal haul.
Grimaldi recognised the sport as a whole was on an upwards trajectory.
‘‘There’s a bigger shift, I think, in New Zealand sporting culture that is, like, shifting away from maybe just being obsessed with rugby,’’ Grimaldi said.
‘‘There’s way more space for other sports, different sportspeople and different stories.
‘‘That’s been really exciting to be a part of and it’s awesome that athletics has been able to capitalise on that.’’
The national championships earlier this year were televised for the first time in 20 years, including para events, and were well attended, with some sessions selling out.
It made Grimaldi reflect on the strong support local Dunedin athletics received, especially when the city hosted the national championships last year.
‘‘Dunedin did such an incredible job of getting behind athletics here.
‘‘That’s not a surprise to me — I live here, I understand how awesome and passionate people are about supporting their local people but also just getting behind events.
‘‘It was cool to see so many people in Auckland as well, but I just think it made me have ... even more pride for our region and how they showed up for the nationals last year when it wasn’t on TV.
‘‘It was just an awesome pump up for our region to go, ‘well, we kind of kick-started that great big big crowds at nationals’.
‘‘Hopefully, it just keeps rolling the next few years.’’
Grimaldi was a double medallist at the 2024 Paris Olympics — ‘‘it was the biggest competition of my life’’ — and recognised another shift with more people taking note of para events.
After starting off her career as a long jumper, she switched her focus to the track after winning 200m gold in Paris.
‘‘It’s definitely taken off.
‘‘Most people know me as a sprinter now and don’t know that I did long jump — and that’s actually the biggest part of my career and the most successful part of my career.
‘‘There’s been a shift in people paying attention and maybe it’s coincided with there being more coverage.’’
She felt giving the public a peek behind the curtains and opening up about her struggles in the sport, including feeling like an imposter after her early success, allowed people to connect more to the sport.
‘‘I think that’s also really important to get behind the scenes a little bit, and get to know people, so when they do perform you kind of have a bigger picture rather than it’s just a race.’’
She was proud to see para athletics stand strong.
‘‘Obviously there’s like a bit of a golden moment of athletics at the moment. It’s obviously cool to now have athletics take off and our team kind of be part of it.
‘‘There’s opportunities for our team to be known, show our results and talk about it as well.
‘‘The platform has kind of arrived and I think that’s quite cool.’’
• TOMORROW: Stalwarts on success
