Meath archer Kerrie Leonard will compete at her second Paralympic Games this week.
“IT WAS DELUSIONAL,” Kerrie Leonard begins, “or faith, hope and pixie dust that I was going to be at the Games.”It has been particularly difficult; a hard slog while working full-time in advertising sales until recently. She left her role earlier this summer to focus solely on Paris 2024 .“I came away with a lot of decisions to make,” the 33-year-old says.
“Somebody saw I was a lot more involved and asked me if I’d like to go to a competition internationally, everything paid for,” Leonard, who later completed a degree in Equine Business and a Masters in Marketing, recalls.“This was a month or two before the London Games. When I went to that competition, I saw what other people’s impairments were, the gap between me and everyone else. It gave me confidence that I could do the sport.
“What a lot of people don’t understand is that a cycle is four years. The initial two years, it’s really on you to be motivated and committed to the sport. The pressure and adrenaline side of things kicks in when you go to qualifying competitions, but that is in the latter half for the cycle. If you are not fit in the first two years of that cycle, in the best position you can be in, you are doing yourself a disservice.”Leonard is among a 35-strong Team Ireland set to compete at the Paralympics.
Read Next Related Reads Paralympian Britney Arendse always lifting the bar after 'fourth chance in life' 'There wouldn't be any other athlete at the top level competing with one arm and no legs' “What I think needs to now shift is public perception,” Leonard concludes.
Kerrie Leonard Paralympic Games Paralympics Paris 2024 The Archer
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