Kerrie Leonard

Started: She took up the sport at age 12 in Ireland, and began competing in 2012. (Athlete, 20 Aug 2021; paralympic.org, 20 Aug 2019) Reason: "I've tried lots of sports like swimming, basketball, kayaking, sledge hockey, waterskiing, sand sailing and archery of course. I got started in archery because my uncle knew someone in a wheelchair who did archery and asked if I wanted to try the sport. Of course, I said yes." She gave up the sport for several years before taking it back up at age 20. "I returned in university when a friend of mine encouraged me to sign up to the university club. I went to my first Para competition because there was an opportunity available through the Irish Wheelchair Association to go to an invitational shoot prior to London 2012 and I participated in Stoke Mandeville [England]." (caracentre.ie, 06 Sep 2020; Athlete, 20 Aug 2021) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Facebook page, 26 Jul 2024) Additional Info: ARCHERY BREAK AND RETURN After taking up archery at age 12, she took a break from the sport before returning to it when she began to attend university in 2012. The same year she worked as a transport workforce team leader at the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in London, and was further inspired to return to competitive archery after she watched Irish boxer Katie Taylor win Olympic gold. "I got to go to Katie Taylor's final. I remember looking around thinking, 'I thought tickets were distributed by a lottery system so how is everyone here wearing green?' It was just amazing. When I went to college I joined the archery club and reconnected with an old coach of mine [Jim Conroy]. The opportunity came up just before London 2012 to go to an international competition, which I took. That first competition I did in 2012 was really important because it showed me that the world standard was achievable and that I could compete at that level. Ever since then I was committed to qualifying for a Paralympic Games." (LinkedIn profile, 10 Aug 2021; Facebook page, 07 Aug 2021; independent.ie, 22 Jul 2021; caracentre.ie, 06 Sep 2020) OCCUPATION She has worked as a strategic account manager for a multinational technology company. (LinkedIn profile, 25 Jul 2024) FURTHER EDUCATION After she graduated with a bachelor's degree in equine business from Maynooth University in Ireland in 2015, she studied for a master's degree in marketing at Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School [University College Dublin] in Ireland between 2018 and 2019. From 2017 to 2019 she also studied for a certificate in agriculture operations from Teagasc, an agriculture and food development authority in Ireland. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Aug 2020; Athlete, 20 Aug 2021)

Sporting Relatives: Her father Edward Leonard was a professional jockey. (caracentre.ie, 06 Sep 2020; Athlete, 20 Aug 2021)