Armless Archer Reveals His Secret To Winning Gold — And It’s Absolutely Bonkers

Matt Stutzman, who is better known as the “Armless Archer,” is certainly, uh, creative.

The Team USA Paralympian won gold in the Para Archery men’s individual compound open event and set a new Paralympic record (for the elimination rounds) of 149 points at the Paris Paralympic Games on Monday.

Stutzman lives in rural Iowa with his family and is left to his own devices when it comes to practicing archery, especially since he pioneered playing the sport without arms . But he’s figured out a truly unique way to simulate the way he feels when he’s competing at the highest level: He gives himself adrenaline rushes during training.

“If you’re not at home practicing how to handle adrenaline, and you’re just in your backyard shooting, it’s not going to actually help you out,” Stutzman explained to NBCOlympics.com . “Because when you get to the Games, you’re going to have adrenaline, and it’s going to feel completely different than at home in the practice range.”

So Stutzman has created a few techniques that help him get his blood pumping while he’s training. They range from the practical to the seemingly over the top.

Stutzman told ABC’s 538 website in 2021 that one of his milder strategies is to flip over cards to set up an imaginary competition. He’ll flip a card over with his foot, and its number will reflect a competitor’s score as he practices.

“The harder the opponent gets, the higher the number is [on the card],” Stutzman said while flipping over a card with his foot to demonstrate for ABC. “What you guys see is me turning over a nine. What I see is my opponent on my right just shot a nine.”

Stutzman told NBC that he also drives race cars and jumps out of planes to get a rush.

He told NBC that he likes to skydive,