Paralympic Champion Stutzman named best archer of 2024

Artist impression of Matt Stutzman.

Matt Stutzman has become the first para athlete to be named archer of the year in World Archery’s annual awards for 2024, finishing ahead of five-time Olympic gold medallist Kim Woojin in the vote.

The 43-year-old, who is perhaps better known as The Armless Archer, finished second at his first Paralympics in 2012 and finally won the Games in Paris last summer, capping a remarkable career as he subsequently announced his retirement from the sport.

He won’t be quickly forgotten, having changed the shape of para archery and inspiring many more armless athletes to follow in his footsteps.

“I’ve dreamt of being the best in the world at something since I was a kid,” he said. “To be recognised among the greats of archery, like Mike [Schloesser], Brady [Ellison], is just incredible.”

“I’m honoured and so thankful.”

The overall archer of the year award was reintroduced in late 2022. Ella Gibson, Marcus D’Almeida and now Stutzman have since been recognised with the prize.

As well as the overall title, winners were picked for breakthrough, coach and judge of the year, as well as in four competition categories – recurve men, recurve women, compound men, compound women, para men and para women.

The awards were announced during a YouTube livestream hosted by former international Bernardo Oliveira.

Olympic Champion Lim Sihyeon and Sara Lopez were the only returning winners. Nine-time Hyundai Archery World Cup Champion Lopez collects the trophy for the eighth time in a decade.

Kim Woojin was voted the top recurve man for the third time, Mike Schloesser the best compound man for the sixth time, and Matt Stutzman the best para man for the second time in their respective careers.

Turkish trainer Goktug Ergin, who led his recurve men to their first Olympic team medal in Paris, was previously named best coach in 2018 and 2021, when Mete Gazoz won that historic individual Olympic title.

Each award was decided by a combination of public, executive and media vote.

The 2024 World Archery Awards winners are expected to be recognised throughout 2025.

World Archery Awards 2024

People