Lucille Lessard

Lore & Background

Lucille Lessard began archery in high school and won the 1972 Canadian Junior Championship in Field Archery. The following year she took the National Target Outdoor Junior Championship. At age 17 in 1974 she won her first National Outdoor Senior Championship, a title she defended in 1975 and again in 1980. In 1974 she became women's champion of World Field, a discipline where competitors shoot at targets at various distances on varied terrain. She was named champion of the Americas in 1975. That same year she was recognized as the top female athlete in Quebec and received the Elaine Tanner Award as Canada's Junior Athlete of the Year. She also won the Canadian Indoor National Championships in 1975 and 1976.

Reader's Guide

Lessard's career was marked by early success and high expectations. After placing seventh at the world championships in 1975, she was considered a strong candidate for the 1976 Canadian Olympic team in Montreal but did not make the team. She later qualified for the 1980 Canadian Olympic team, but Canada boycotted the Moscow Games, preventing her from competing. Despite not appearing at the Olympics, her achievements in field and target archery earned her induction into the Canadian Sport Hall of Fame in 1977. Her record includes multiple national senior titles and a world field championship, placing her among Canada's most accomplished archers of the era.

Did You Know?

• She was women's champion of World Field in 1974.
• She was named top female athlete in Quebec in 1975.