Disabled Archery USA

Archers Take Aim for Paralympic Medals

Athens, Grece (USOC)- The Paralympic Archery Team begins competition Tuesday with ranking rounds. The team is expected to medal in competition. Three out of the five members of the team are world ranked.

“We have some of the top ranked archers in the field,” says coach Glenn Harris (Langley, Wash.). “Archery is a tough game, you have to strike hard and fast. Jeff is the toughest on the field.

Harris is referring to Jeff Fabry (Tulare, Calif.) the number one ranked archer in the W1 division. Fabry uses his teeth to release the string of the bow to shoot the arrow.

“I want to win a medal,” says Fabry. “I want to represent my country and do my best.”

Other international ranked team members include Aaron Cross (St. Cloud, Minn.), third, and Lindsey Carmichael (Largo Vista, Texas), fourth. Cross is the veteran of the team competing in his third Paralympics. “I came here for a medal. I did not come to just shoot, I want a medal,” states Cross.

Carmichael, the only woman on the team, is competing in her first Paralympics. “It is fabulous. It has surpassed my expectations and I have high expectations,” says Carmichael who forwent her first year of college to train for the Paralympics. “I knew that I would not be able to shoot well or often if I went to school. I decided to focus on archery for the Paralympics and it is working fine.”

The team is rounded out by two former members of the military: Chuck Lear (Lee’s Summit, Mo.) and Kevin Stone (Adrain, Mich.). Lear, a Marine, hopes that all of the training and changes to his technique payoff. “I am almost on target and I hope everything comes to fruition here.”

Stone’s interest in archery was first sparked at a Ted Nugent concert and later when he competed at the Veterans Wheelchair Games. Since leaving the Army after his accident, Stone has wanted to serve his country. “Coming here as part of a team of 400 plus in one mass Team USA was amazing,” reflects Stone. “It is such an honor to be representing the Unites States.”

Harris, who has been coaching the team since 1996, has seen many changes. “We went from a program that no one knew or cared about, to a world champion team,” Harris proudly says.