Tracy Otto, ranked third in the world in her class, is on her way to her first Paralympic Games with USA Archery. Otto and the other members of the USA Archery Paralympic Team are hoping to take to the podium next month in Paris. We recently spoke to Otto about the upcoming Games, which will be held from Aug. 29 through Sept. 5 in Paris. She told us the story of how she chose archery, how she found her first coach and discusses what she looks for when choosing a bow. The full interview will be released in three parts. Check out Part 1 below!
A360: How did you get started in archery?
TO: Well, it’s kind of a funny story. So, I became paralyzed in 2019 and it wasn’t until about two years after that I started shooting, in March of 2021. Ricky and I were just going down the highway and I was just sitting there and I was about two years in and I had so much time on my hands and I was like, “I can’t work a traditional job.” I can’t do things that are fulfilling in my eyes. So, I was like, well, why don’t I start with a hobby — find something that interests me, something I’ve never done before, something that is different. We were just going down the highway and I was like — archery. Why not archery? I had never tried it before.The opportunity never came to me. I know that they do programs and stuff in high school, but I was just never aware of them. I had it pop into my head and I look at Ricky and I’m like, “We’re going to shoot archery,” and he looks at me really funny. He’s like, “But your hands don’t work,” and I’m like, OK, but, we’ll figure it out. There’s ways to figure it out.
A360: How did you find your first coach?
TO: I went on Google, it was just simple Google search, and I looked up an adaptive sports program in my local area. I found the All People’s Center here in Tampa and it all just went from there. I sent an e-mail to the head coach, Earl Brown, and I was like, “Hey, I’m interested in your program. Can I get some more details, like can I come out? What does this look like?” And he’s like, “Yeah, come on out.” So, the following week we went to All People’s and I took my first shot. I actually have a video of it and we did it with a mouth tab. It was just a basic setup. I was falling over, I was dropping the bow because my hands don’t work very well. I was dropping the bow every time I would release the shot. My first shot, I hit the target and in the video you can hear Ricky go “Woo-hoo!” I was like, OK, what’s the endgame for this? What is the biggest competition that you can do? My mentor at the time was like, “Well, you can go to the Paralympics.” And I was like, “OK, well, when is that?” I didn’t really understand at the time what the Paralympics really meant and what kind of a movement it was. I was just not very exposed to the world of people with disabilities as an able-bodied person, which is kind of sad. I asked him, “What does that look like? When is it?” He told me it was in 2024. I was like, “Let’s go.” It was in that moment. I was like, “We’re going to go to the Paralympics.”
A360: What do you look for when you’re choosing a bow?
TO: I want to be super honest with you, that’s really hard for me. I’m into my equipment. I know my equipment, but I know it more by feel, not by name. I’m not the kind of person that switches bows very often.So, I don’t have experience with testing different bows. I can’t tell you, “This is my how-to, this is my trick.” I just go with whatever is natural for me and what feels smooth and what feels comfortable. I know people say that a lot: “You have to do what’s best for you and you don’t really know until you try.” I’ve gotten really comfortable really quickly with having to adapt to different things. It’s hard for me to notice differences in bows because I am still really early on. So, that’s kind of a hard question for me to answer.
Stay Tuned
Stay tuned for Part 2, where Otto will discuss her practice routine and how she avoids building bad archery habits. She will also discuss what steps she took to get to the highest level and gives advice for other archers, including sharing her favorite piece of advice from fellow paralympic archer, Lia Coryell.
Watch Tracy Otto and the rest of Team USA go for gold at the Paralympics starting Aug. 29.
