Take a ‘bow’ at this archer sans arms
rio de janeiro — A man with no arms walks into a shop selling bows and arrows — yes, US Paralympic star archer Matt Stutzman agrees this could sound like the start of a joke.
But it really happened and today, incredibly, Stutzman is not only a top Paralympic archer competing in Rio de Janeiro, but the Guinness World Record holder for the longest shot.
Feeling “depressed” by his inability to contribute to the family or work while his wife Amber scrambled with two jobs, Stutzman decided in 2009 on an unlikely solution. “When you’re desperate to help provide for your family, you’ll be willing to try whatever,” the 33-year-old said after competing on Wednesday.
First Stutzman, who was born without arms, had to go to a store. “When I first walked in and said ‘I’d like to buy a bow,’ they were looking at me like weird,” he said, and asking “How are you going to shoot it?’ (I said) ‘I don’t know — just give it to me’.”
Stutzman said he searched online for tips on how to fire arrows with no hands or arms and found nothing. But he had well-developed foot skills, being able to shave, write, even drive with his feet.
“I think I can do everything. Sometimes it can take me longer. I can tie my shoe — it might take me two minutes instead of 30 seconds, but I can still do it,” he said.
To shoot, he sits, holding the bow out with his right foot, then extends his leg to bend it. The string holding the arrow is fastened to his body until he activates a release and the arrow flies.
He’s come a long way over the last seven years. “At my first tournament, I asked the lady where the other armless archers were and she said, ‘What do you mean?’ I didn’t know I was the only one that did it,” he recalls.