McKenna Geer

Started: She took up shooting at age 12 in Washington State, United States of America. (Twitter profile, 17 Sep 2020; teamusa.org, 16 Jan 2015) Reason: She was introduced to the sport at a summer sports camp. She originally played wheelchair basketball, but was drawn to shooting because she preferred the individual nature of the sport. (teamusa.org, 16 Jan 2015) Milestones: She became the first athlete to win a gold medal in shooting Para sport at the Parapan American Games when the sport debuted at the 2019 Games in Lima, Peru. She triumphed in the SH2 open 10m air rifle standing discipline. (SportsDeskOnline, 23 Mar 2021; Shooting Para Sport Twitter profile, 17 Sep 2020; usashooting.org, 01 Sep 2019; lima2019.pe, 24 Aug 2019) She became the first female shooter representing the United States of America to win a medal at the Paralympic Games by claiming bronze in the SH2 open 10m air rifle prone at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. (SportsDeskOnline, 03 Jul 2022; teamusa.org, 13 Sep 2016) Additional Info: BREAKS FROM SPORT She took a four-month break from the sport after competing at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. In 2022 she took another break as she was pregnant with her daughter Kathleen, who was born in early 2023. She returned to competition in early 2024. "When I came back from Tokyo, I took a break for four months, and started training again. I shot both parts of Para Trials in the beginning of 2022, and was set to travel with the team to the first qualifying World Cup for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in June 2022. I was seven weeks pregnant. The day before leaving, we had to do mandatory COVID tests, and I tested positive. Obviously I was disappointed to not have the opportunity to travel, but I was far more concerned with the little life I was carrying. At that point I had to make a choice, and family was far more important than sport. I was able to immediately start my maternity leave. But yet, I still felt like this chapter of my life was not finished. That's why I never announced retirement." (Facebook page, 16 Jul 2024, 14 Feb 2024; usashooting.org, 26 Feb 2024) OCCUPATION She has worked in the guest experience team at the US Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In the run-up to the opening of the museum in July 2020, she gave guided tours of the museum to reporters prior to the ribbon cutting ceremony. She was also one of a group of Para athletes that was consulted for curation advice while the museum was being designed. (Facebook page, 25 Jan 2021; Facebook profile, 02 Nov 2020; gazette.com, 04 Aug 2020) FURTHER EDUCATION In 2020 she completed a master's degree in business administration at DeVry University in the United States of America. (Facebook page, 01 Mar 2021; teamusa.org, 18 Sep 2016)