The Backstory:
Known as the “Armless Archer”, Matt Stutzman was born without arms and adopted soon after he was born. Raised with the philosophy ‘figure it out’, he learned and adapted to do everything he wanted to do, including archery. Getting into the sport to make a living and put food on the table quickly led to his goal of becoming the best archer in the world. After putting in the time and practice, Stutzman took his first step towards that goal by earning a silver medal at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Since then he holds 2 national records in archer, a Guiness World Record, and numerous medals at the 2014 Parapan American Championships. Heading into the Tokyo 2021 Paralympic games, Stutzman is hopeful to improve on his previous silver medal.

Away from archery:
Stutzman is married with three kids and is passionate about using his platform to encourage others to get up and achieve their goals.

In their own words:
“Hey, I’m going to prove everybody wrong. I’m going to show them that I am the best, and that I deserve sponsorship because I’m the best, not because I’m unique, or different.”

“The feeling is, it’s almost better than winning. Like, what is defining of the best archer in the world? The best archer in the world is somebody who changes the sport, makes it better, or changes people that watch what you do and make them better. In my mind, that’s considered the best archer in the world.”

“Archery changed my life. I went from living off of Social Security, which was $600 a month, to now I don’t need Social Security. I can take care of my kids. Now people know who I am. This is bigger than archery now.”

Learn more:
Team USA Page
IPC Page
Des Moines Register: “Iowa’s ‘Armless Archer’ aims for gold at Tokyo Paralympics”
NPR: “Armless Archer Matt Stutzman Describes How He Shoots A Bow- And Wins Medals”
CBS News: “The Armless Archer”