As the sun set west of the Eiffel Tower, Jodie Grinham made history. She became the first woman to be openly pregnant to win a medal at the Paralympic Games, winning a bronze medal shoot-off against fellow American and close friend Phoebe Paterson Pine.

It was a thrilling individual compound open match, with Paterson Pine, who won gold in Tokyo, taking a small lead and holding it until the final end. She needed a 10 to win from her last arrow, a nine to start a one arrow shoot-off, but shot an eight to her dismay – nerves getting the better of her at the crucial moment.

Grinham leaned forward in shock before the two embraced. They have been friends since they were teenagers and have trained together since 2014.

“I knew I needed to be a 10 to put pressure on her,” Grinham said, “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t and it’s annoying when it’s a teammate, but we both know that’s sports.”

Grinham, with long, shocking pink bangs and long hair dyed blue at the ends, has an unerring eye for the center of a target. But the swollen belly of a seven-month pregnant woman has led to adjustments, with an extra-low quiver hanging around her waist, which in turn has led to adjustments in the way she lifts and holds her bow. And flat shoes to keep her from wobbling around in a sport where concentration is everything.

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Bush and Truesdale win double gold in taekwondo

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Amy Truesdale and Matt Bush wrote their names in the history books by winning Britain’s first Paralympic gold medal in taekwondo on a special night in Paris.

Truesdale emerged victorious in the women’s K44 +65kg event when reigning champion Guljonoy Naimova was dramatically carried out of the final. The Briton dominated and led 8-1, but the Uzbek fighter was kept down after a kick to the throat before retiring from the contest.

Chester-born Truesdale (pictured) waited anxiously for her fate after her rival left in distress. She was shown a yellow card and officials accepted that the kick to the throat was unintentional, costing her a point but securing an 8-2 victory and giving her the chance to celebrate her success.

Welshman Bush backed up his team-mate’s historic success by beating neutral athlete Aliaskhab Ramazanov 5-0 in the showpiece match of the men’s K44 +80kg event at the Grand Palais. The double gold medal takes ParalympicsGB’s total in Paris to 11, leaving them second behind China in the medal table. PA media

Photo: Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images Europe

And as an added distraction, she had to deal with the little kicks of her increasingly active baby. “The baby hasn’t stopped (moving), the baby is saying, what are you doing? It’s a real honor to know that the baby is here and that little bubble of support that I have in my belly.

“I started to get really worried that the baby would move when I was all tense and that it would affect my shot, but my coach and I worked for a long time on a little pregnancy preparation, where she moved me and the belly, so I could get used to that feeling. Even during games today when I was all tense, I acknowledged it, mommy loves you, I’ll hug you like this, and then went on with my processes. Then I gave him a little pat and said it’s all good, I know it’s a lot of noise, a lot of heartbeat.”

At seven months, Grinham is now at the same stage as when she gave birth prematurely to her son Christian, now two. But she was determined to show that it was possible to be an elite athlete while in the late stages of her pregnancy. There were precautions – she checked that Les Invalides was within eight minutes of the nearest hospital. And she spent the last week in and out of hospital for check-ups – but it was worth pushing the boundaries.

“There is no stigma,” she said, “the stereotype of things is totally irrelevant, if you feel like you can do it, then it doesn’t matter. If the doctor says it’s okay, then go do it.”

Archery has been part of the Paralympic Games since the very first games in Rome in 1960. But the setting could be less beautiful than that of the Esplanades des Invalides, with the grey skeleton of the Eiffel Tower on one side of the arena, the gilded dome of the Hotel des Invalides on the other, trees pruned into obedient straight lines in the garden and the gleaming bronze winged horses of Pont Alexandre III looking out over the city from the north.

Much to the disappointment of the enthusiastic crowd, two favorites were eliminated early. Sheetal Devi, 17, of India, the armless archer who lifts and holds the bow with her foot and pulls the string with her teeth, and who has 312,000 followers on Instagram, fell in the elimination round. And Julie Rigault Chupin of France was defeated in the quarterfinals, despite the enthusiastic efforts of the crowd to chant “Faites du Bruit!” After a comforting back massage from her coach, she was blown out of the stadium roaring.