Healey out of Paris 2024 Olympic Games and admits tough season

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT is presented by WIAWIS.

When young athletes burst onto the scene out of nowhere, it can be taxing on their mind to redo a breakout season all over again.

For 19-year-old Penny Healey it is no different. 

The Briton made her name known to the world in February 2022 after winning the women’s Indoor Archery World Series Finals as a 17-year-old… and it was no fluke. 

A year later, she won the Lilleshall European Grand Prix, a World Cup stage, where she beat world number one Casey Kaufhold, and the European Games.

The same success rate cannot be said for 2024 with Healey’s only medals coming in the women’s team event at the European Grand Prix in Porec and bronze in the Final Olympic Qualifier where she, Megan Havers and Bryony Pitman booked Great Britain a full Olympic women’s team quota for Paris 2024.

“I think I’m not going in with the mindset of ‘Well, whatever happens, happens’ because that doesn’t do anybody good,” said Healey prior her individual matches on Thursday.

“I’m also not putting that pressure on myself, because I’ve not really had my best season so far.”

“I didn’t really expect to be here, let alone shooting against everybody. I’m just going to do my technique to take the pressure off myself.”

Unfortunately for her, Healey could not put this year’s blues behind her as she seeded 52nd in last week’s individual ranking round, a performance she called “shocking”.

Her low ranking forced to come up against the newly crowned recurve women’s team Olympic gold medallist, Jeon Hunyoung, in the first round who defeated Healey in three straight ends, 6-0.

It came days after she and Great Britain also lost 6-0 to Germany in the women’s team first round. 

“I haven’t really performed to the standard that I know I can,” said Healey who was nominated for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award last year. “I have also been struggling a lot with some technique stuff, which has overall affected my score.”

“In the next few years, I think I’m definitely going to work on a lot of mental stuff, which then goes along from the technical stuff I’m working on.”

“I’ve already said to the psychologist, I’m not going to let the next Games be like these Games. I’m going to do everything I can,” she added.

To even be competing on archery’s biggest stage signifies a comeback story for the European Games champion.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Healey suffered from mental health issues from the restrictive lockdowns that negatively impacted many young people around the world.

As hard a time as it was though, it was this that pushed her to Paris.

“I think after that, I went, ‘You know what, archery is kind of my purpose like, I’m going to shoot this the best I can’.”

“I won the European Grand Prix, then I kind of just went straight from there.”

Healey began her archery journey, inspired by a combination of two people: Merida, the main character of the animated Disney movie ‘Brave’ and the highly decorated Ki Bo Bae, the London 2012 individual and women’s team gold medallist and Rio 2016 individual bronze and team gold medallist.

“It was just how effortless it seemed. It made archery seem easy. Even across her whole career.”  said Healey. 

“Of course, when I started competing, and started experiencing things she must have experienced, I realised that it wasn't effortless at all, and it must have been incredibly hard work.”

In there lies Healey’s answer to the question of LA28.

Of course, there will be the task of competing at the highest level for another Olympic cycle, but controlling the mind and nerves will be her next priority.

Time is more than on Healey’s side, now she must execute it efficiently should she live up to the heights of a Ki.