Leryn Dahiana Franco Stenery (born March 1, 1982, in Asunción) is a Paraguayan athlete specializing in javelin throw and a model. She initially competed in javelin and triple jump in her youth before focusing solely on javelin. At the 1999 World Youth Championships in Bydgoszcz, she failed to qualify with a throw of 43.56 m. In the 2001 Summer Universiade in Beijing, she placed tenth with 43.69 m. She finished eighth at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo with 50.21 m and did not advance past qualification at the 2003 World Championships in Saint-Denis, throwing 51.13 m. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, she ranked 42nd in qualification. She placed twelfth at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, won bronze at the 2007 South American Championships, and silver at the 2011 South American Championships with 55.66 m. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she ranked 51st in qualification with 45.34 m and was eliminated in the preliminary round at the 2012 London Olympics. Her personal best is 57.77 m, achieved on June 8, 2012, in Barquisimeto. She is 1.74 m tall and weighs 54 kg.
Alongside her athletic career, Franco works as a model and participates in beauty contests. She competed in the Miss Bikini Universe contest and was runner-up in Miss Paraguay 2006. In the 2009 AskMen.com Top 99 Women vote, she placed 86th. She ranked sixth and first in 2009 and 2010 respectively in Bleacher Report's Hottest Female Athlete polls. Additionally, she works as a TV presenter in Paraguay and was voted the most beautiful athlete at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Paraguay
