Paris Paralympics: How the OG Armless Archer Matt Stutzman scripted a stunning campaign to finally win archery gold

At the 2023 World Archery Para Championships in Pilsen, India’s Sheetal Devi – the archer without arms from Jammu and Kashmir who has become a sensation over the past year or so – got the chance to meet the man who started it all. The OG. The man who goes by “Armless Archer” on his social media handles. Matt Stutzman of USA, who has gone above and beyond just being a popular Paralympian since making headlines at London 2012 by winning silver.

Twelve years ago, he was the only armless archer at the Games. Not anymore. After getting to meet Sheetal in Pilsen, and sharing some of his technical inputs regarding the scope in the bow, Stutzman had told World Archery: “I can retire now and be okay with everything. I’ve done really well, but the fact that we have other armless archers is way more important. It proves anybody can shoot a bow. You don’t need arms to do that. Bows just want to be shot.”

He had said on a few occasions how inspiring more armless archers was his ultimate prize. But before he moved on from the sport, Stutzman had one final magic trick left to pull off. On Monday, the 41-year-old became the Paralympic champion. On a sensational day of archery that will remain long in the memory for those who witnessed it, Stutzman showed he wasn’t in Paris just for a fancy farewell. He was there to win, to add the most important gold medal there is in sport to his resume. And he did so in stunning fashion.

‘Couldn’t have scripted it better’

In a fitting way to begin his knockout round, Stutzman was drawn to face Víctor Sardina Viveros of Mexico, one of the four armless archers in Paris. “My first match was against an armless archer who I was mentoring, and this is the first time in the Paralympics that two armless archers shot against each other. That was amazing and history,” Stutzman said after winning gold on Sunday night.

Matt Stutzman from the U.S. competes in the Mens Individual Ranking Round during the Paralympic Games in Paris on Thursday. (AP)

Then came another wonderful narrative arc. In the round of 16, he was up against Jere Forsberg of Finland, who Stutzman had lost to in the final at London 2012. And what a rematch it turned out to be. After the regulation 15 arrows, the two archers were tied 141-141. In the shootoff, Forsberg shot a 10 that was just 19mm off the center of the target, usually enough to win a tiebreak.

Stutzman decided: not today. In his signature style, he loaded the arrow while anchoring the bow between his toes, extended his leg to draw, and with his chin-activated release aid, released the arrow towards the target placed 50m away. Bingo. Bull’s eye. The arrow was so close to the center, that the scoreboard showed “minus 2mm”. Quite possibly, one of the greatest single arrows shot in the history of the Games.

“I told myself that if I ever get the opportunity again, I’m not going to let him beat me twice. So that happened,” Stutzman said with a glint in his eye.

A quarterfinal win followed against ‘good buddy’ Nathan Macqueen of Great Britain. And then, to get to the top podium, he went past two of the best in the world, China’s He Zihao and Ai Xinliang. In the semifinal, tied at 148 each (joint Paralympic record by both), he won the shootoff again. And in the final, he shot nine straight 10s to register a new Paralympic Record score of 149 out of 150.

Mark Stuzman that is audacious! 🔥

What a way to end the shoot-off in today's Para archery!

🇺🇸 🎯#Paralympics | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/3KtUp4JUKY

— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) September 1, 2024

“I probably couldn’t have scripted this story better,” as he put it.

Putting food on the table

While the thumb rule in archery is to stay calm and not get distracted by what’s going on around you, Stutzman is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Between Ends, he was conducting the crowd to cheer for him, jumping around yelling, “let’s go!” He celebrated the good arrows, he shrugged off the bad arrows by lifting his feet up and showing the toe — his version of the thumbs up. In every sense of the word, Stutzman is unique, and from a young age, he was raised to be that way.

rcher Matt Stutzman of the United States talks to a pupil during a visit in a Paris school, in Paris. (AP)

Stutzman was born without arms. He was adopted by his current family in Iowa at four months old, and his parents never let him believe anything was beyond him. He was encouraged to try new things constantly: riding a bull, eating with a spoon using his feet, riding a car, (he wants to be a drag racer now, as he is already an expert in driving fast) and climbing up and down a tree. Self doubt was never an option. And then, at a point when he was having difficulty finding work, Stutzman found a source of livelihood in archery. First, by using a bow to hunt for food. And eventually, using it to win medals.

“Archery changed my life completely. I went from not figuring out how I was going to put food on the table for my family to winning medals and taking care of my family,” Stutzman – known for his sharp wit – said on Sunday night, with tears in his eyes. “I’m not sad about retirement, because there are amazing armless archers that are going to carry on this tradition. I will always be around, and I will still be supporting and helping and getting them to achieve what I feel and achieve. It’s their turn to shine.”

Sheetal Devi, among the many others, are testament to the real legacy that Stutzman leaves behind. But signing off with that shiny gold medal around his neck isn’t half bad either.

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