PARIS, France – Tracy Otto, Jason Tabansky and Jordan White are officially Paralympians after the opening day of archery competition at the Paris Games.
All six archers on the USA team were active on Thursday, including now five-time Paralympian Eric Bennett, 2012 silver medalist Matt Stutzman and compound men open world number three, KJ Polish.
In taking to the field for the ranking round, White became the youngest Paralympic archer to shoot for the United States, aged 15 years and 278 days.
“Marching in the opening ceremony on Wednesday night put everything into perspective,” White began. “Whether I miss every arrow or I walk away with the gold medal, I’m a Paralympian and I’ve achieved that.”
White clearly settled into the competition the longer it went on. His second set of six ends brought him 30 more total points than the first (305-275), and it is that form he will take into the elimination rounds next Wednesday.
“First round was a huge struggle,” he admitted. “I felt a lot of pressure and was really nervous but after I decided to let go of it and have some fun, I was able to turn it around for that second round.
“In the halftime break I was feeling a little out of my element and really uncomfortable but I went and I talked to my mom by the perimeter and she told me to go and fight. She told me ‘you deserve to be here, go, fight, you’ve got this’, and I went out there and I fought and I gave it everything I had.”
Ranking rounds took place on a separate field to the one that will be used going forward, with all elimination matches staged in the finals venue, and with spectators present. These matches will be televised live on NBC and Peacock.
White will have his mom, dad and siblings watching from the stands when he faces Lukasz Ciszek (CZE) on Wednesday. Bennett will tackle Suresh Selvathamby (MAS) in the first match of the day. He managed the same score of 301 from both his first and second round, finishing with 602.
Bennett said, “I really felt good about today. I had a few that I wish I could take back that would’ve helped the overall score but I shot a lot of really good shots and I’m not unhappy.
“Truthfully, it’s about where I’ve been all season and so while the ranking score isn’t great (21st), the eliminations is what matters.”
Bennett, appearing at his fifth Paralympic Games, will be watched by wife Rachel and his two children. They arrive in France on Monday.
“I really can’t wait for them to get here,” Bennett added. “I shoot better in front of a crowd and it’ll be amazing having them in the stands.”
The first of the archers to get their ranking rounds underway were those in the W1 division, Otto and Tabansky. Otto shot a season’s best 547 in the qualification round and will start the elimination matches against seventh seed Liu Jing (CHN) on Saturday. The winner will take on Chen Minyi (CHN), the second seed and defending champion, in the quarterfinals.
Of her Paralympics debut, Otto commented, “I hate to be cliched but it’s unreal. I’m so proud and I never thought that my life would rise from the ashes as it has.
“To be on the world stage and having such an amazing experience, I’m just so happy to be here and honored to be competing and considered a Paralympian.”
Tabansky is ranked sixth after Thursday’s 72 arrows, which produced a personal best 654 for the Paralympic debutant. He has an extra day to get himself set for the medal chase with W1 men tackling their elimination matches on Sunday, when the forecast suggests rain.
The 41-year-old Tabansky faces Eugenio Santana Franco (BRA), the man he beat to gold at this year’s Para Pan American Championship. The winner will go up against third seed and two-time Paralympic champion, David Drahonínský (CZE), in the last eight.
“It was good coming in here and competing against people that I’ve competed against all year,” said Tabansky. “Started off really strong and I tried to keep it, but conditions were changing, things were getting a little bit swirly but think I finished pretty strong and finishing in sixth place at my first Paralympics in qualification, I don’t think that’s a bad start.”
The W1 mixed team pairing of Otto and Tabansky will combine to play Italy on Monday. The winners will take on Czech Republic in the semifinals.
Wrapping up the first day of competition were the compound men open duo of Polish and Stutzman, who both recorded season best scores in the ranking round. Stutzman, in what is his fourth and final Paralympic Games, finished 19th with a score of 686. Polish is the seventh seed after a 695, though this was a mere two points behind third.
Both return on Friday for the 1/16 elimination stage. The 1/8 matches onwards take place on Sunday. Stutzman is first up of the USA pair on Friday. He faces Victor Sardina Viveros (MEX), who managed a personal best score of 688 to finish 14th.
“Today, in the first half, I had a problem with my release,” admitted Stutzman. “Once I fixed it, my scores got way better. The last time my release broke, I won the whole thing!”
Polish will take to the finals field just under an hour after Stutzman, with Fernando Gale Montorio (ESP) his opponent.
“Sometimes the score doesn’t really reflect how well you shot,” Polish began. “I feel that I shot way better than I scored. Today I missed about 10 arrows by an eighth of an inch. I shot really good. I’m confident and I’m ready for the real stuff tomorrow, the match play.”
Upcoming Schedule
* times in ET and subject to change
August 30:
11:12am – Compound men open 1/16: MATT STUTZMAN vs. Victor Sardina Viveros (MEX)
12:03pm – Compound men open 1/16: KJ POLISH vs. Fernando Gale Montorio (ESP)
August 31:
3:17am – W1 women 1/8 round: TRACY OTTO vs. Liu Jing (CHN)
September 1:
4:08am – W1 men 1/8 round: JASON TABANSKY vs. Eugenio Santana Franco (BRA)
September 2
3:20am – W1 Mixed Team quarterfinals: USA vs. Italy
September 4
3:00am – Recurve men open 1/16: ERIC BENNETT vs. Suresh Selvathamby (MAS)
4:59am – Recurve men open 1/16: JORDAN WHITE vs. Lukasz Ciszek (CZE)
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