The archer is one of the few para athletes to achieve this feat.
The Paralympic Games will highlight those athletes who must constantly adapt to practice their sport as best they can. In para archery, holding an archer is a real feat for some, especially Matt Stutzman. The 41-year-old American is one of the very few archers to shoot only with… his feet, hence his nickname “Armless Archer”.
Encouraged by his adoptive parents, he tried his hand at various sports before discovering archery late in life, in 2010, “to bring home food”. Aware of the difficulties of his disability and the source of inspiration it can be, the athlete tries to be an example. “If I can influence even one person through my performances, whether I win or lose, that will already be a victory for me” he explained. “There is nothing I can’t do. Which means that if I can do it, you can too” the athlete told children during the Paralympic Day organized in October 2023 to encourage them to surpass themselves.
Paralympic vice-champion in London in 2012 (open compound bow), world champion in Dubai in 2022, he hopes for a new medal in Paris on the occasion of the Paralympic Games.