NZ wins first gold at Rio Paralympics

New Zealand has won its first gold medal at the Paralympics in Rio with Anna Grimaldi winning her long jump event.

The Dunedin 18-year-old sat in the minor placing through her first five rounds before recording a distance of 5.62 metres with her last jump in the T47 category.

It was her third personal best of the day and took her ahead of a Cuban athlete.

The last medal New Zealand won in Paralympic field events for women was a bronze in the Long Jump B3 from Leslie Mancktelow in 1988 and New Zealand's first Para-athletic medal since 2004 when Peter Martin won two golds and a bronze medal at the Athens Games in 2004.

Photo: RNZ