U.S. Paralympian Matt Stutzman epically won gold in the Para archery men's individual compound open event at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, and it was no small feat for the skilled archer, who was born without arms.
The 41-year-old archer from Fairfield, Iowa, who uses his legs and feet for most activities, set a new Paralympic record in the 5-end final scoring 149 points out of a maximum of 150 points over China’s Ai Xinliang, the bronze medalist from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Stutzman had already secured victories against Finland’s Jere Forsberg in the round of 16, followed by his win against China's gold medalist He Zihao in the thrilling semifinals.
You can watch the self-described "Armless Archer" make the perfect shot here.
Stutzman hadn't won a medal since medaling silver for his debut at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.
And here is the moment he went for the gold and hit the bullseye.
The clips of Stutzman in action have gone viral.
It was an exciting and bittersweet moment in his career.
Stutzman acknowledged a lot was riding on the Paris Summer Games as he had previously discussed bowing out from competing in future games due to ongoing hip issues.
"It hasn’t sunk in yet, to be honest," he said after winning gold.
“I knew going into this it was going to be my last Games, so there’s a lot of emotion, and I didn’t expect this medal, to be honest," said the father of three boys.
Stutzman explained in a Brut America profile video that something "clicked" the moment he watched a man on TV taking a bow and shooting it.
"Matt, you need to try that," he recalled telling himself.
He started practicing archery in 2010 when he was 28 and aimed to be the best archer in the world—who just happens to have no arms.
In 2015, Stutzman broke the world record for the farthest accurate distance shot, which was previously held by an able-bodied archer.
Although he has also won medals at the World Para Archery Championship, Stutzman said his proudest achievement was inspiring others like him.
He told World Archery:
“There’re more armless archers involved in this sport now."
"You can take away all my medals, and I wouldn’t care, because that would be my medal.”
@lordye/Bluesky