What Paralympian Matt Stutzman has dreamed and achieved is already legendary.
“I was born without any hands. I remember nothing about that, but my parents remember the doctors telling them that I wasn’t going to be able to do anything with my life,” he told NBC Los Angeles on Thursday. “I wasn’t going to be able to eat by myself. I wouldn’t be able to wash my face or brush my own teeth.”
Not only is Stutzman the first armless archer to win gold, but his score of 149 out of 150 in Paris in 2024 set a Paralympic record.
He reached the summit of success and then retired. But now the 43-year-old father of three has a new target in his sights: the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“The scores that I’m shooting are capable of winning, so why not give that a try,” Stutzman said.
Stutzman’s not trying to qualify for the Paralympics, but the Olympics, and the debut of a new mixed compound event to be held in Carson, where a nation can field a team of one archer per gender. Can he make another impossible dream come true?
“I’m back in the gym, working out. I’m losing more weight. I’m trying to be even more healthy,” he said. “But the main thing is the mindset. I’m focusing a lot on the mental aspect of the game. We get one shot.”
He said his family was surprised to hear about his new goal.
“I said, ‘Listen, guys. This is going to be a tough one. But if I can pull it off, we’ll all go to LA. But if not, at least know your dad did his best,'” he said.