LONDON —
Fairfield’s Matt Stutzman earned a silver medal Monday at the 2012 London Paralympics.
Stutzman advanced to the finals in the Archery Individual Compound-Open with a 6-4 win in the semifinals over Guillermo Rodriguez Gonzalez of Spain. He was defeated in the finals 6-4 by Finland’s Jere Forsberg, who claimed the gold. Dogan Hanci of Turkey defeated Gonzalez to claim the bronze medal.
Stutzman had advanced to the semifinals on Sunday, when he took a 6-4 win over fellow American Denton Dugie in the quarterfinals.
Stuzman, age 30, was born without arms. There was no medical explanation for his condition and he just got on with life without them. As a young man, he took up archery and is known as the “Armless Archer.”
Stutzman has become one of the most recognizable figures at the Paralympic games over the last week, and according to an article Monday in the London Telegraph, many fans were craving a gold for the Iowan.
While Forsberg fired in silence, every time Stutzman prepared to fire an arrow — his foot high up in his eye line, the cord in his teeth — the sounds camera of shutters could be heard throughout the arena.
The final against Forsberg — who is in a wheelchair — was described as “nerve-shredding” by the British press. Forsberg won the gold after several shoot-offs.
“He’s good, can’t take anything from him,” Stutzman told the Telegraph. “But I’ve loved every minute of these Games. Now I’ve finished my competition, I’ll try and catch a bunch of other sports, I want to spend a couple of days without adrenalin.”
Time after time in rounds heading to Monday’s final, in a three-arrow set Stutzman would score a maximum 30. On Monday, Forsberg was just as accurate.
Every time Stutzman shot a 10, so did Forsberg. Time after time in the crucial last set — which he had to win to force a shoot-off — Stutzman shot the maximum, and so did Forsberg.
“It was the calmest match I had,” Stutzman said afterwards, his first Paralympic medal hanging around his neck. “It was hard to explain but I felt at peace, I loved that match. I felt I so good, whatever I did I’d come out of that a champion.”
Sports
September 3, 2012
Stutzman earns silver medal at Paralympics
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