Competing against the No. 1 ranked archer Ai Xinliang of China, Team USA’s Matt Stutzman was looking for a chance to improve upon his silver medal from the 2012 London Paralympics. Stutzman, who is known as the Armless Archer for his ability to shoot without arms or hands, didn’t practice with his bow for 2 months leading up to the Paris competition, focusing instead on his mental preparation.
Before you watch the videos mentioned below, you should understand that the shooters are competing on a range with the target set at 50 meters (54.7 yards); the diameter of the 10 ring is 8 centimeters (3.2 inches).
Click here to see Matt Stutzman’s final 15 arrows in the gold medal match. The video from the NBC broadcast is 7-minutes long; fast-forward to the 6-minute mark to see the super-exciting finish.
The 2-minute YouTube video below from NBC4 Columbus contains several interesting comments from Stutzman regarding his path to archery and his unique preparation for this event.
Stutzman is the first armless archer to win Paralympic gold, and in the final match, he set a new Paralympic record (149 out of a perfect 150 score).
Congrats, Matt!
