Season's best helps Leonard finish in 21st place

Kerrie Leonard was one of the first Irish athletes into action on the opening day of the Paralympics in Paris earlier today.

Competing at her second Paralympic Games, Kerrie took part in the W2 Individual Compound Open (ranking).

The archer from Culmullen, Drumree produced a season's best score of 653 for for 21st spot when the top 16 was her main priority.

All competitors return for tomorrow's head-to-head elimination rounds. Each will have 15 arrows with the winner to progress to the last eight on Saturday when the medal positions will be decided.

With 66 of the 72 shots completed, Kerrie Leonard was also in 21st with 597 points.

Leonard first represented Ireland in 2012, before taking a break and returning to the sport in 2014.

She finished ninth at the 2015 World Championships and took silver a year later at the Europeans. She finished ninth overall at the Tokyo Games.

Leonard has certainly travelled far in the sport since she picked up archery through a family friend at the age of 12. She started competing competitively and has participated in international events since 2012.

Over the years she has been coached by Meath archer Jim Conroy who took part int the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976 and Moscow 1980.

She first competed for Ireland in 2012, took a break and returned to the sport in 2014. She finished ninth at the World Championships in 2015 and won silver at the 2016 European Championships when she came very close to qualifying for the Rio Paralympic Games. She finished ninth overall at the Tokyo Games. She was also among the nominations at the Meath Sports Awards in 2022.

Kerrie studied Equine Business in Maynooth University, before going on to complete a masters in marketing in UCD in 2019.

Tomorrow's action in the individual eliminators gets underway at 9am.