Matt Stutzman, Team USA’s self-described ‘armless archer’, wants to follow up gold with a move into a new sport
Hollywood has been turning Olympic stories into biopics for decades, but – documentaries aside – studios rarely give the blockbuster treatment to Paralympians. After his gold medal at this year’s Paralympics in Paris, however, Team USA archer Matt Stutzman’s career now has the kind of feelgood ending tailor-made for a sports movie.
Indeed, if Stutzman’s life were a film, a fitting climax would feature his Paris semi-final against reigning Paralympic champion He Zihao. It’s worth setting the scene. Each athlete is down to their final arrow. China’s He shoots first and, releasing the arrow with his right hand, strikes the 10-point circle, finishing the round with an almost-perfect cumulative score of 148 (a 150 score is theoretically possible, although no one has ever achieved it at the Paralympics). Sitting on 138 with one arrow remaining, Stutzman needs a 10 to tie the contest. Seemingly nonplussed, he loads the arrow and uses his right foot to pull the bow taut.