Paralympic gold medallist Matt Stutzman returns to archery, targeting LA28 Olympics

The 2024 Paralympic champion Matt Stutzman has announced his intention to return to competitive archery, this time targeting the LA28 Olympic Games.

“I thought winning gold in Paris was the perfect ending to my career,” Stutzman told USA Archery. “But when compound archery was added to the Olympic program for Los Angeles, I realized my story might not be finished. I have the opportunity to attempt something that has never been done before – and I have to take that shot.”

Known as the ‘Armless Archer’, Stutzman‘s achievements in the sport, culminating in a Paralympic gold medal at Paris 2024, have inspired archery para-athletes all over the world.

He retired in 2024, saying “Archery has given me the world, and now it’s time for the next chapter of my life.”

The attempt to make an Olympic team – and potentially take a medal – is an ambitious effort at crossing over between the Olympic and Paralympic Games, something achieved by just a few dozen athletes in history. 

Compound archery will make its debut at the Olympic Games in LA, with a mixed team event featuring one male and one female compound archer each from sixteen nations. The USA, as hosts, qualify a mixed team by right.

Stutzman will face tough competition for the single compound men‘s place available for the event, although he was characteristically unfazed by the challenge. “This is bigger than coming out of retirement,” he said.

“It is about challenging what people believe is possible. I want young athletes with disabilities to see that they do not have to accept someone else’s definition of their limits. I also want to prove that when I step onto the range, I am not just a great para archer – I am one of the best archers in the world.”

Several archery athletes have competed in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, although no-one has yet medalled in both. 

The first athlete – in any sport – to compete at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games was an archer. New Zealand‘s Neroli Fairhall, who won gold at the 1980 Paralympics in Arnhem, also competed at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games. 

Italy’s Paola Fantato competed in five Paralympics for Italy, and competed at both the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games and the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games.

Iran’s Zahra Nemati repeated Fantato‘s feat in 2016, competing in both the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, where she won individual Paralympic gold, defending her title from London 2012.

Finally, France’s Damien Letulle, who competed in both recurve individual and team events at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, returned to competition, shooting compound, at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, age 51.

The LA28 Olympic archery competition will take place at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, with the mixed team qualification round starting July 19, 2028.