Disabled Archery USA

2004 U.S. Paralympic Archery Team Ready for Athens

Members of the 2004 U.S. Paralympic Archery Team just concluded a week-long training session at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California.  It was their last opportunity for training as a group before they depart for the Paralympic Games, held from September 17th through 28th in Athens, Greece.   The U.S. Team of five members - four men and one woman -will make a strong push for several medals in Athens despite 4-of-5 members being first time Paralympian. 

Jeff Fabry, the reigning U.S. and World Champion, is the favorite for individual gold in the men's W1 division.  Fabry, who will be a first-time Paralympian, has erased many of the IPC world records over the last year, including breaking the IPC world record for a 72-arrow qualifying round during the Paralympic Trials in California in April.  Fabry also holds all of the U.S. W1 records.

Fabry's W1 division teammate Aaron Cross enters the games ranked 4th in the world and is the only U.S. Team member with Paralympic experience.  Cross, who finished second at the U.S. National Target Championships in July, will be competing in his 3rd consecutive Paralympic Games.  Cross, who is considering retirement following the Athens games, is looking for the first Paralympic medal in his archery career. 

Chuck Lear completes the men's W1 division for the U.S.  Lear finished 3rd at the U.S. National Championships in July and will be making his Paralympic debut next month.  Lear was part of the silver-medal winning team at the 2003 IPC World Championships in Madrid, Spain (along with Cross, Fabry, and Larry Townes) and is looking to continue his archery success in Athens.

Kevin Stone is representing the U.S. in the W2 division.  Stone, whose busy training and competition schedule in 2004 resulted in steadily-improving scores since the 2003 World Championships, and put pressure on able-bodied and disabled archers in each tournament Kevin entered.  The year has also been full of record-breaking performances for Kevin, setting new marks in all of the W2 categories but one.

Finishing up the team is Lindsey Carmichael, the lone female competitor for the U.S.  Lindsey, looking to build on her 4th place performance at least year's World Championships, finished a strong 10th among all female archers - able-bodied or disabled alike - at the the U.S. National Target Championships in July.  She holds all U.S. records in the women's W3 division and has a reputation of being a fierce competitor during head-to-head competition, so the Paralympic format suites her well. 

The U.S. team is coached by Glen Harris, a mainstay of disabled archery in the U.S.  Athens marks Harris's 3rd consecutive Paralympics as a head coach, and this 2004 team may be the strongest he has ever assembled.  Known for his get-tough-or-die style, Coach Harris will definitely prepare his team for the unique environment that is the Paralympic Games, and aims to bring home even more hardware for Disabled Archery USA. 

posted September 17, 2004 by L.T. Arnold