Team USA recently made a strong showing at the World Archery Para Championships in Donaueschingen, Germany.
Ultimately, they took home four golds. The US has one of the biggest Paralympic teams and cheering them on was one of the largest groups of fans. The crowd left quite pleased that day.
Competition was fierce, as the Russian Federation was delivering a commanding performance themselves. Americans Jeff Fabry, Jerry Shields and Chuck Lear tied with 194 points against the Slavic juggernaut, forcing the W1 championship round into a shoot off.
Chuck Lear had an unfortunate missed shot, but he kept the faith, saying, “When I missed the shot I knew the guys could pick me up and that’s exactly what they did. It’s what being on a team is really all about.” He later finished with a 10 point shot, helping to win the shoot off 25-22.
The compound men’s final was not quite as intense, but Matt Stutzman, Andre Shelby and Ben Thompson of Team USA still brought home a well-earned victory against Turkey.
Stutzman commented on their comradery, saying, “We travel pretty well as a team and hearing everybody cheering us on definitely helped motivate us. I really haven’t been on a better team.”
“At the end of the day that is why we are here, for Team USA.”
– Matt Stutzman
Eric Bennett also showed a strong performance, earning a gold for men’s recurve. Overall, he scored a 9.1 average in the final match, a feat he pulled off with one arm that most would be hard-pressed to accomplish with two.
All in all, the world championships have had a lot of memorable moments, and there’s certainly more to come with the Olympics just around the corner.
