The Dunedin Paralympic long jumper has shown her ability to perform under pressure on many occasions. Notably, she pulled out a huge personal best on her last attempt to secure a shock gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
That will give Grimaldi, and her coach, Ward, plenty of confidence as they depart for the Tokyo Games. There she will defend her T47 long jump title, on September 3.
Ward said he had plenty of excitement after a long five years since the last Games.
The build-up had gone well and alongside training, Grimaldi had had several competitions around New Zealand to prepare.
It comes after a summer in which she finally broke the 5.62m mark she set in Rio — a mark she has now broken nine times.
She enters the Games with a 5.91m jump to her name, which should make her a hot favourite.
Being able to repeat that on the day was what Ward said was key.
"We know what Anna can do, but these are different circumstances," he said.
"Everything’s different about it. The situation and everything that’s going on and happening to make a difference.
"You just want to focus on what you’re doing and that’s what we’re looking for.
"So I’m really positive about how Anna’s going and all the team and support has played out.
"We’re really looking forward just to making the most of this opportunity now, so that is exciting."
The word "opportunity" was one Ward stressed.
Rather than viewing the competition as the one Grimaldi needed to perform at, she viewed it as a chance to compete with the world’s best and was something to enjoy.
"There’s nothing better than to jump with the best jumpers in the world. It doesn’t come around that often.
"Anna really enjoys that. That’s one of our big goals — enjoying the occasion, enjoying the competition. It’s such an important part of it."
Adapting to the environment would now be the focus.
While Covid-19 would change things, keeping the competition day as familiar as possible was key.
Doing the things they knew worked well for Grimaldi would be important.
Likewise, adapting to early morning competition would be another adjustment.
She will jump at 9.34am (local time), and Ward said the three-hour time difference would make for good lunchtime viewing for New Zealanders.
