PARIS, France. – When Eric Bennett made his debut at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, his 2024 teammate Jordan White was a little over a month away from being born, and it is that blend of youth and experience which epitomizes the six seeking success in Paris.
Bennett is set to feature at his fifth Paralympic Games, while 15-year-old White will be making his debut on this grandest of stages, as will Tracy Otto and Jason Tabansky.
Like Bennett, the teenage White will compete in recurve men open. Otto and Tabansky will contest the W1 division while compound men are represented by KJ Polish and Matt Stutzman. Polish has been to two Paralympic Games previously while Stutzman – a silver medalist in London 12 years ago – will pull on the Paralympic jersey for the United States for a fourth time.
Otto arrived in the French capital as world number one in the W1 women division and aims to become only the second female from the United States to win a Paralympic medal in archery, following Lindsay Carmichael in 2008.
“This means everything to me,” said Otto ahead of her debut. “It means going from rock bottom and near death, to taking over the world and changing everything – changing the game, changing the script, changing what the narrative says and showing the world that you can do anything.”
There was success for the men in Tokyo three years ago, when Kevin Mather won gold in the recurve men open, to go with Paralympic gold won by Andre Shelby in 2016 (Rio) and Jeff Fabry in 2012 (London).
For Bennett, this is a fifth Paralympic Games and one he has extra reason to look forward to. He said, “Being at different parts of my life during the last four experiences has really helped me put this in perspective in having my family be here.
“It’s made it all so much more enjoyable and I’m doing everything I can to take everything in and really enjoy the experience, and I feel relaxed and confident.”
The USA archers enjoyed a familiarization session – involving four ends of shooting – on the finals field on Monday before official practice took place on Tuesday. The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games is the star attraction on Wednesday before the archery competition gets underway with ranking rounds on Thursday, and what will be a new experience for Otto, Tabansky and White.
White commented, “Last year there was a picture that they published of the venue (Invalides) and I set that as my computer wallpaper, and so for the past year I’ve been looking at this venue and I’ve been wanting to compete at this venue, and I’ve been picturing it in my mind.
“To finally be here, on one hand I’ve prepared for it, I’m ready for it but on the other hand it’s surreal.”
Invalides, the setting for the archery competition, is the final resting place of Napoleon, and just one of many historic buildings used as the backdrop to these Games. And if you peer over the rooftops to the left of the venue you will see arguably the most striking landmark in Paris, the Eiffel Tower.
“We go on a bus ride to the venue which takes us through the roundabout that takes us past the Arc de Triomphe,” Bennett said with a smile. “That almost doesn’t seem quite real, so it’s cool to be here.”
The first archery medals of the Paris Games will be won on Saturday in the W1 women division. The USA’s involvement in the archery competition concludes next Wednesday with Bennett and White in recurve men open. The closing ceremony is set for September 8.
|
NAME |
AGE |
HOMETOWN |
DIVISION |
PREVIOUS |
|
Eric Bennett |
50 |
Surprise, Ariz. |
Recurve Men Open |
2008, 2012, 2016, 2020* |
|
Tracy Otto |
28 |
Plant City, Fla. |
W1 Women |
|
|
KJ Polish |
41 |
Carmichaels, Pa. |
Compound Men Open |
2016, 2020* |
|
Matt Stutzman |
41 |
Fairfield, Iowa |
Compound Men Open |
2012, 2016, 2020* |
|
Jason Tabansky |
40 (birthday is 8/28) |
Boerne, Texas |
W1 Men |
|
|
Jordan White |
15 |
Cedar Park, Texas |
Recurve Men Open |
|
* times in ET and subject to change
August 29:
3:00am - W1 men and women ranking round
7:00am - Recurve men open ranking round
11:00am – Compound men open ranking round
August 30:
9:30am – Compound men open 1/16 elimination round
August 31:
3:00am – W1 women elimination rounds from 1/8 round to the semifinals
5:48am – W1 women bronze medal match
6:05am – W1 women gold medal match
September 1:
3:00am – W1 men elimination rounds from 1/8 round to the semifinals
6:22am – W1 men bronze medal match
6:39am – W1 men gold medal match
9:30am – Compound men open rounds from 1/8 round to the semifinals
1:43pm – Compound men open bronze medal match
2:00pm – Compound men open gold medal match
September 2:
3:00am – W1 Mixed Team quarterfinals and semifinals
4:55am – W1 Mixed Team bronze medal match
5:15am – W1 Mixed Team gold medal match
September 4:
3:00am – Recurve men open 1/16 and 1/8 rounds
11:30am – Recurve men open quarterfinals and semifinals
1:24pm – Recurve men open bronze medal match
1:44pm – Recurve men open gold medal match
How To Watch
Elimination matches will be televised live on NBC and Peacock.
You can keep up to date with all the drama and excitement from the Paralympic Games with the Paris 2024 Archery Pass. This mobile pass keeps you up to date with competition schedules, merchandise sales, gives you a chance to play USA Archery's online archery game On Target, and provides resources so anyone can connect with a local club to try archery. Don’t miss out, get your Paris 2024 Archery Pass today!
< Back to All News
