Top Paralympic archer Matt Stutzman (b. 1982, USA) has shot into the record books following a successful attempt yesterday for the Furthest accurate distance – men’s archery title.



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Under FITA conditions, the American athlete skilfully hit a target from 283.47 m (930.04 ft) at TPC Craig Ranch, a private golf club in McKinney, Texas, USA.

Born without arms, the 'Armless Archer' learned to expertly use a bow and arrow using his feet and shoulders and has now broken a record that was previously held by an able-bodied person.

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Stutzman – who was a member of the US Paralympic Archery Team in 2012 and went on to win a silver medal – significantly bettered the distance of 200 m (656 ft 2 in) that was achieved by Peter Terry (Australia) back in 2005.

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Feeling confident before the attempt, Stutzman said: “I have lot of dreams. One of my dreams is to break the world record, and that dream will come true today.”

He continued: “I see myself as just an able-bodied person … I decided that since [my arms] weren’t going to grow back, I was just going to go forward with everything and not let anything get in my way or stop me from my goals.”

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The record attempt took place during a three-day MJP Pro Intensive Training program alongside other athletes including paratriathlete Melissa Stockwell, Tatyana McFadden (a four-time Paralympian in track and field who has notched up 11 Paralympic medals), and Lex Gillette (who holds the current Paralympic record in the long jump).