Image source, Getty Images
Caption: Tracy Otto will represent the USA in archery at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games. Article information
- Author, Emma Smith and Caroline Barker
- Author Title, KeynoteUSA News
1 hour
The news surprised her in the middle of lunch: she, Tracy Otto, would participate in the Paralympic Games in Paris.
“They gave Ricky, my boyfriend, a box with a hat on it that said I was qualified,” Otto, 28, told the KeynoteUSA about the games that began on Wednesday.
“When they told me I was just starting to eat lunch, so I had food in my mouth. I was crying and eating, and there were cameras everywhere,” she added.
Otto had just been selected for the US Archery Team at the Paralympic Games, where he participates in mixed teams and individually.
“It’s the best,” Otto tells us from Tampa with a huge smile on his face.
“Going from a bed where I thought I was going to die to participating in the Paralympics is an amazing journey.“I am in awe of myself and my team.”
Otto is not exaggerating: he was literally in bed waiting for death.
In October 2019, the young woman was attacked in her home by her ex-boyfriend.
As a result of the attack, he ended up paralyzed from the chest down, where he could barely move his arms and hands. He also lost his left eye.
Besides, does not sweat or can regulate body temperature appropriately.
Despite all this, Otto speaks freely about what happened on the night that changed his life, and does so in an honest and detailed manner.
In her own words, she wants to be “a light of hope for the world.”
Image source, Tracy Otto
Caption: Her ex-boyfriend’s attack left her in a wheelchair and without her left eye.
She wants women who suffer from any type of violence from their partners or ex-partners to know that they are not alone.
The attack
In September 2019, Otto decided to end her relationship with her boyfriend. A month earlier, he had been arrested for attacking her at her home in Riverview, Florida.
She was ready to move on with her life. And she had found someone else.
“I had met Ricky. We met on September 26 and went on a couple of dates,” she said.
“I had broken up with my boyfriend. I had told him to leave. To pack his things and leave. When he was gone, I changed the locks on my house. I did everything that had to be done,” duck.
And she tells what happened on the night of October 24, when she was about to go to sleep after a date with Ricky.
“Then all of a sudden I heard a noise and the next thing I knew I saw a light shining in my face. I was very confused,” she said.
“Then I heard a voice. It was him. My ex-boyfriend.”
Otto recounts that his ex had parked his car in front of the house, walked around the house and looked out his bedroom window.
“We were sleeping. Then he decided to go and buy a pellet gun. He also had handcuffs and a knife. He then came back, managed to get into the house and shouted at me and Ricky to get up.”
“Then he told us that he was going to kill us and that if he didn’t kill himself afterwards, he himself would call the police.”says Otto.
According to her, from that moment on everything becomes blurry due to the speed with which it happened.
“I don’t know what happened exactly because I just collapsed and lost consciousness.”
Image source, Tracy Otto
Caption: Otto’s injuries in the attack left her paralyzed from the chest down.
The attacker hit Otto several times before shooting Ricky twice in the face and stabbing him in the back, causing his lung to collapse.
He then shot Otto in the eye and then stabbed her in the back of the neck with the knife, leaving her paralyzed.
“So he called the police, told them who he was and where he was. He called me his girlfriend, although he later admitted to the police that we had broken up.”
“He also told them, ‘I just killed my girlfriend and her new boyfriend.’ So he decided to wait for them. That’s when they arrested him.”
In January 2023, her ex-boyfriend pleaded guilty to charges of attempted robbery with assault, two attempted first-degree murders, and rape. In addition to the allegations of bodily harm.
He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
New life
The attack changed Otto’s life forever. Five years later, he is still learning how his body works today.
“It’s much more than me being paralyzed and in a wheelchair as people see it from the outside. On the inside, Many parts of my body do not work”, reveals
“For example, my diaphragm is also paralyzed. My body cannot regulate temperature. In other words, I cannot sweat,” he adds.
For this reason, if she is in the sun – as she must be in order to practice archery – her body temperature rises too much. That is why she must take many precautions so that her body does not overheat and suffer heat stroke.
“I have intestinal problems, because they don’t work very well, so I have to look for alternatives to be able to relieve my basic needs”he points out.
“Also, because my brain can’t communicate with the rest of my body, if something bad happens below my chest, I can’t feel it. And it could be anything,” such as needing to go to the bathroom, an itch, clothing that’s too tight or an ingrown toenail.
“If something happens below my injury level that is an unwanted stimulus, my body immediately goes into fight or flight mode and my blood pressure increases.
“That’s one way my body says ‘something bad is happening’ but the risk is very high. And I can have a stroke, a heart attack and die in minutes. And it can happen to me at any time.”
Image source, Tracy Otto
Caption: Otto spent several months in the hospital recovering from his injuries.
For most people, just the idea of trying to have a normal life after something so traumatic would be enough.
However, Otto, who once aspired to be a fitness model, wanted to feel active again.
So, in March 2021, He chose a sport he had never tried before.
“I was in the car with Ricky, thinking about what to do with all the free time I had, especially since I can’t do a normal job,” he said.
“So I thought, why don’t I try archery? And Ricky said something like, ‘But your hands don’t work quite right. ’ So I said, ‘We can work that out. ’ I did some research and saw that there was an adapted archery course. A week later I was at the shooting range“, he adds.
Image source, Tracy Otto
Caption: She aspired to become a fitness model before the attack.
The Olympic call
Due to his disability, Otto began his practice with a special harness. He uses it to shoot arrows with his right shoulder. But then he started using his mouth.
“I have a custom release that sits on my wrist; it has a wire that runs up through the hat with a closed pin-type device that I bite down on when I’m ready to release the arrow,” she says.
“I also have the hat and a glove that allow me to hold the bow so I don’t drop it when I release the arrow.”
Otto says he hit the target with the first arrow he shot and it stuck.
He soon had great ambitions.
“I wanted to go to the Paralympics right away. In my second week of training I was wondering, ‘What will it be like to compete there?'”
Otto was soon touring the country, competing in qualifying tournaments. As the only American archer in her Paralympic category, she had to achieve a minimum score: shooting 72 arrows, she needed 520 points out of 720.
He reached that mark last summer.today confirmed his move to Paris 2024 in a three-stage series earlier this year, culminating in his own state, Florida.
Image source, USA Archery Team
Caption: She discovered in archery a new way to become competitive and useful.
The final touch was that surprise celebration during lunch.
Otto is very honest about what happened to her and the struggles she faces on a daily basis.
But this woman is a vibrant person who refuses to be intimidated by the man who tried to take everything from her.
“I have had the feeling that there is a bigger picture to this situation,” he clarifies.
“I always wanted to make an impact on this world and be a light. There is so much darkness and hate that I cannot justify not speaking out and being an example for hurting people like me.” he added.
She adds that she couldn’t just lie on a bed and accept what had happened.
Image source, Tracy Otto
Caption: Tracy Otto reached the minimum score to participate in the Paralympic Games.
“Honestly, it’s exhausting. I’m very lucky to have Ricky to help me, to make sure I’m okay. But it’s very difficult, even picking something up, it reminds me of what happened to me. Your body is no longer working the way it should.“, said.
She indicated that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
“My life is much better now than before, much more colorful, full of love and laughter.”
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