Plant City para archer qualifies for Paralympics after surviving brutal attack
PLANT CITY, Fla. - When we first met the unstoppable Tracy Otto in April 2023, she was determined to qualify for the paralympic archery team. She’s the survivor of a brutal attack at the hands of an ex-boyfriend, but she fought through her injuries, proving the impossible is possible.
"I’ve just always had a strong will to live and to leave the world better than I found it," Otto said.
When Otto takes aim in life, she always hits her target.
"I have this crazy belief in myself that day that I decided that we were going to go to the Paralympics, I just said ‘yeah, we’re going to do this, there was no doubt,'" she explained.
That determination was on full display when we first met Otto and her boyfriend, Ricky Riessle, last spring.
They were just beginning their journey towards the goal of the Paris Paralympics. They were traveling the world, competing in dozens of tournaments, fundraising and relying on donations to make the trips to Brazil, Chile and all across the U.S.
"It was nonstop travel, travel, travel, trying to get qualified, trying to get the scores, trying to get the practice, it was just insane," she explained.
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The Paralympic trials wrapped up in Gainesville in May, and Otto needed a 520 to qualify, and she shot a 572.
An exasperated Otto explained her reaction when she found out: "We’re going to the Paralympics! Like we’re going to Paris to do what we set out to do, and it’s just ahhhh!"
What makes this accomplishment so profound, is the fact that she and Riessle were nearly killed in an attack four and a half years ago.
It was the fall of 2019 when Otto's ex-boyfriend, Francpiero Del Medico, broke into her Riverview home – armed with a pellet gun and a knife – and attacked her and Riessle while they were asleep.
"The EMT's jumped her once or twice on scene, I don't remember, and they said I would have bled out in 10 minutes," Riessle explained.
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Del Medico called 911 from the scene and waited for the police to arrive. He’s currently serving a 40-year sentence.
The attack left Otto paralyzed from the chest down, and she spent a year and a half in intense physical therapy and rehab, fighting through it all with a smile.
When she was ready, she did a quick Google search for adaptive sports in Hillsborough County, and it led her to archery at All People’s Life Center. She took her very first shot on March 27, 2021.
She has custom-built equipment and a bow, which allows her to shoot without full use of her arms.
"I have a traditional release that goes on my wrist, but there is a camera shutter cable that is connected to it that goes up around my neck into my hat and up in front of my face and there’s a little clothespin type apparatus at the end of it and I bite down on that, and it releases the arrow," she explained.
Otto has mastered the focus and precision of the sport that's saved her life. She explains that it brings her, "Joy and peace and excitement and valuable life experiences that I never could have imagined having before."
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She practices four days a week, perfecting her shot for Paris with Coach Matt Hall.
"She's been an inspiration to so many people, so many of the kids I also coach," Hall said.
When Otto takes her first shot in Paris, she'll be the only woman representing Team USA for para-archery alongside four other men.
"Lots of pressure! It’s crazy, it’s surreal, it’s fun. I mean I’m having a great time," she explained.
You'll notice Otto always says "we" when talking about how far they’ve come.
"I love him so much. He's the one who rescued me, so without him, I wouldn't be here," she said, speaking of Riessle.
Riessle never left her side after that night in 2019, and he's now her full-time caregiver and arrow agent.
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He got emotional when explaining her strength, "I just, I don’t know how she did it. You flip the roles if I had come out of that attack paralyzed, I don’t think I’d be anywhere where she is now. Just her determination is crazy."
The 2024 Paralympic games in Paris take place from August 28 to September 8.
But, Otto and Riessle are not slowing down. Before they go, they have two more qualifying tournaments for USA Archery for next year’s team.
The USOPC will cover their trip to Paris, but they fund all other tournaments through donations and fundraising. To learn more about their journey, you can follow their travels here.
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