Almost five years ago, Tracy Otto was left for dead by a jealous former partner. While she was sleeping in her Florida home with her boyfriend Ricky Riessle, the man entered the home. Then shot her several times, before stabbing her*.
“My spinal cord was severed,” she says, leaving her paralyzed from the chest down. Her partner was also seriously injured, but recovered. This Monday, when she presents herself at Les Invalides to compete in the mixed archery event, she will, as usual, be very close.
A relationship that motivates her to surpass herself
At 28, Tracy Otto wants to be positive. “I try to see it as recreating beauty from ashes,” she explains. Showing the world that no matter the circumstances, you really can do anything you want, as long as you put your heart and mind into it. »
His secret? According to her, love and her relationship with Riessle first. “We have a bond unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. It’s beyond family. It’s beyond a romantic relationship. It is truly a union of the soul. We are really together 24/7, because obviously I need his help,” explains the archer, who shoots her arrows using a device controlled by her mouth.
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Saturday, until his elimination in the quarter-finals, the young man was by his side. To joke, to advise, and finally to tell her how proud he was of her when she was beaten.
“My body no longer functions as it should”
As always for several years, Ricky Riessle is next to her. During her convalescence in Chicago, her family – with whom she says she had a “difficult childhood” – abandoned her. It was her companion who came to collect her from the rehabilitation center. “For him to come and pick me up at the center… Yes, it was a moment that I will never forget,” she says, “I remember very well that he told me that everything was going to be okay , and that we would build the best life possible together. And look where we are now! »
Despite everything, building a sports mentality wasn’t easy, but she got there. “I still have fragments of memories of things that happened (during the attack),” admits the one who underwent therapy and took her time to process the trauma.
Rebuilding a sports physique, however, is more difficult. “My body no longer functions as it should, in several areas,” she explains. For sport, thermoregulation is the problem: “Not being able to sweat or warm up my body temperature is a big challenge I face when shooting archery.”
Big ambitions for the future
Before her attack, she had often wanted to take up archery. But other priorities had distracted her. “One day while we were driving down the highway in March 2021, I thought, ‘Well, I have so much free time, why not try something new?’ “, she says, “I said to myself: “Let’s go. Let’s do it.”
“Choosing your own family, the one that suits you, helps you have the state of mind that allows you to continue moving forward,” she says to explain her new vision of life, which she summarizes as follows: “Setting goals goals and having people around you who love you, surrounding yourself with positivity and spreading light. To be a role model for women who have experienced things like me and for those who have a disability.”
At 28, Tracy Otto does not set limits for herself: “I just want to conquer the world, continue to Los Angeles in 2028, then Australia in 2032,” she says. Before repeating, like a mantra : “I just want to conquer the world!” »
*The attacker, who turned himself in to the police immediately after his attack, is currently serving a 40-year prison sentence.
