Matt Stutzman

Started: He took up the sport at age 28. "In 2011 I was in Vegas for a tournament, and someone approached me and said, 'You should shoot Paralympic archery', and I said, 'What is that?' So, I googled for that." (bow-international.com, 28 Mar 2022; Athlete, 23 Aug 2015) Reason: He used to accompany his father and brother on hunting trips. "We had no idea how I was going to [shoot a bow]. We just knew I had a genuine interest." (archery360.com, 07 Oct 2015) Ambition: To win gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (kcci.com, 04 Oct 2023) Awards: He was named Male Para Archer of the Year for 2022 by World Archery. (World Archery Facebook page, 05 May 2023; worldarchery.sport, 20 Jan 2023) Additional Info: POTENTIAL LAST DANCE IN PARIS He has admitted that the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris may be his final appearance at the Games. "I've been having some hip issues recently and you can tell after 13 and a half years or so of shooting every day and everyone knows how I shoot. My hips are what the doctors say 'wearing out' so do I have the desire to do that? Can I do four more years of training at the level I need to train at to make another Games? Where will that put me with my body as far as my hips are concerned? That's all the stuff we're weighing up right now. Maybe we see a year out from LA 2028 whether I can come back and see how my body feels and see how I shoot. That's several years from now so who knows, but as of now, I foresee this as my final event for Team USA and want to enjoy the moment and everything I've got to experience over the last 13 and a half years." He made his debut Paralympic appearance at the 2012 Games in London, and he says that London 2012 was a pivotal moment in his life and career. "I remember that I didn't have any expectations. I knew I was just going to go and enjoy the entire moment of what I was doing. I didn't know it was going to lead to a silver medal, but I ended up performing really, really well. To be honest that whole movement and that whole moment changed my life completely. I went from no job, going to London, coming home from London, and the whole town threw a parade for me, and then I had job offers like crazy." (worldarchery.sport, 19 Aug 2024; paralympic.org, 12 Aug 2024) AIMING WITHOUT ARMS He had to devise a way to compete in archery without having arms, so he learned how to use other parts of his body to fire arrows. He uses his left foot to place the arrow while holding the bow with his right foot. Then he pulls the string of the bow back, with the arrow, using a contraption attached to his right shoulder. Finally, he moves his jaw to trigger the contraption and release the arrow. "People ask me how I taught myself to eat and stuff, and I don't remember because obviously at two years old I was already holding a fork in my foot. So my brain just knew how it was going to have to do that stuff before I realised that I had no arms. Probably within a couple of weeks of getting a bow, I knew what I was supposed to do with my life." (bbc.com, 01 Jan 2020; outsideonline.com, 10 Sep 2012) DRAG RACING He began drag racing in 2012 as an amateur bracket racer. He uses one foot to drive and the other to operate the pedals. "When I was little, I wanted to be a professional race car driver. I was probably 11 years old. My dad tossed me the keys to a Ford Ranger and said, 'Go teach yourself how to drive'. I taught myself how to drive in our field. I got so good that I could drift, like all the way around our barn. I just knew from 11 years old that if I ever got the chance, I wasn't going to squander it. Archery is an individual sport, but drag racing is not. In the car world, the love and respect that I get from everyone is amazing. They look at me as a racer and not as a guy without arms. I want to travel and go to other tracks. I'm not content with just racing at local tracks for points." (dragzine.com, 28 Sep 2023; dragillustrated.com, 28 Sep 2023; sickthemagazine.com, 14 Sep 2023; Methanol Moonshine YouTube channel, 01 Sep 2023; Facebook page, 21 Aug 2023) DOCUMENTARY In 2020 he appeared in a documentary film about the Paralympic Games called 'Rising Phoenix'. "I've done documentaries and stuff like that in the past. But with this one, they really allowed me to just be me. If I wanted to be funny, I could be funny. If I wanted to do something specific, they were really open in showing the world who Matt Stutzman is." (tokyo2020.org, 05 Sep 2020)