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Washington Evening Journal
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Matt Stutzman balances archery and racing, with his feet
FAIRFIELD – Fairfield’s Matt Stutzman is showing the world that he can do anything he puts his mind to.
Stutzman, whose nickname is the “Armless Archer,” is best known to locals for his excellence with a bow, which he shoots with his legs. Stutzman earned a silver medal at the 2012 London Paralympics, and in 2022 he captured the gold crown at the World Para Archery Championship in Dubai.
As if that were not impressive enough, Stutzman has become a professional in another sport, that of drag racing. Stutzman showed off his race car during Saturday’s Whoopee Days Parade in Brighton, where he drove the car while his wife Jessica rode in the passenger seat.
Most people would have no clue how to drive a car with no arms, but Stutzman said it wasn’t a challenge at all.
“I was able to adapt and figure it out,” he said.
Stutzman said he got good practice driving a tractor when he was only 7 years old, and later obtained a license to drive regular, un-modified vehicles. He’s been interested in tinkering with cars his whole life, and performs all the maintenance on own race car.
“I built a lot of the stuff on here,” Stutzman said of his race car. His friend Jason Clark pitched in, too.
Stutzman got his first race car 13 years ago, and got his current race car two years ago. He’s only had to make minor modifications to it to suit his unique needs, such as making the steering wheel a little shorter. So far, he’s competed in races in Eddyville and in neighboring states like Missouri and Illinois, and elsewhere throughout the Midwest. He said he plans to compete in the $1 million race coming up in St. Louis.
Stutzman’s son Carter, who just graduated from Fairfield High School in May, helps his dad and goes with him on his racing tour. Carter is planning to attend Northwestern College in Orange City, and someday hopes to join his dad on the racetrack.
“But it is an expensive hobby,” Carter remarked.
Stutzman usually competes in drag races where the car is pulling a weight on an eighth of a mile track. However, he does other kinds of racing, too, and on June 29 he’s going to participate in one of the races being held at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.
Stutzman said he splits his time about evenly between racing and archery, and that the two complement each other nicely.
“Archery requires such mental focus that it’s good to do something that’s got nothing to do with archery,” he said.
Stutzman’s next big event in archery is the Paralympic Games this August in Paris.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
