Los Paralympic Games that take place this month in Paris bring with them a series of stories of improvement from several of their participants. Such is the case of Tracy Ottoa 28-year-old American who will compete for the first time in the archery discipline, and whose career is marked by a violent event that occurred five years ago: Her ex-partner attacked her and caused injuries that left her permanently in a wheelchair..
“I resurfaced like a phoenix would”said the young woman to the AFP agencyafter the sinister event that occurred five years ago and for which he was close to losing his life. She and her current partner, Ricky Riessle, were attacked while they slept in their home in Florida. Otto’s ex-boyfriend shot her several times with a pellet gun, wounding her in her left eye and stabbing her right in the spinal cord.
The other victim was also shot several times and stabbed in the back, but physically recovered and is part of the Olympic athlete’s team when she competes. For his part, the aggressor surrendered to the authorities and received a sentence of 40 years.
“I try to think of it as creating beauty from the ashes, rising like a phoenix. Show the world that, regardless of your circumstances, you can do anything you set your mind to“, he declared after passing the first round at the Paris Paralympic Games.
The athlete – who practices archery through a device that she controls through her mouth to be able to shoot arrows – was left with severe physical consequences, including a paralysis that goes from the chest down and the loss of the eye that was injured.
“My body does not function as it should in many ways. The thermoregulation“Not being able to sweat or warm up my body temperature is one of the great challenges I face when shooting archery,” he explained.
Despite all this, Otto speaks freely about what happened on the night that changed his life and does so in an honest and detailed way. In her own words, she wants to be “a light of hope for the world”.
As a goal, the para-archer said she wanted to “conquer the world, continue until Los Angeles in 2028 and then Australia in 2032.” “I just want to conquer the world,” he wished.
Currently, and after winning the gold medal at the Parapan American Games in 2023, he is representing his country on the archery team, both in the mixed teams – along with his partner Jason Tabansky – and in the W1 open individual competition. where she finished eighth in the classification.
AFP Agency
