Tracy Otto
{{Short description|American Paralympic archer (born 1995)}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Tracy Otto
| image =
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| fullname =
| nationality =
| country = United States
| club =
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| alma_mater = University of Tampa
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1995|11|28}}
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| hometown = Plant City, Florida, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height =
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| disability = Quadriplegic
| disability_class = W1
| sport = Para-archery
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| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport|Para-archery}}
{{MedalCountry|the {{USA}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|Parapan American Games}}
{{MedalGold|2023 Santiago|Individual W1}}
}}
Tracy Otto (born November 28, 1995) is an American Paralympic archer. She represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.
Career
Otto began practicing para-archery in March 2021.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-27 |title=Tracy Otto: Paralysed by her ex-boyfriend, now a Paralympian |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/archery/articles/cp089q32yrqo |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=BBC Sport |language=en-GB}}
Otto made her international debut for the United States at the 2023 World Para Archery Championships where she finished in ninth place.{{cite web |url=https://gohawkeye.org/tracy-otto-aims-for-the-paralympics/ |title=Tracy Otto aims for the Paralympics |website=gohawkeye.org |date=April 27, 2024 |access-date=July 15, 2024}} In November 2023 she represented the United States at the 2023 Parapan American Games where she won a gold medal in the individual W1 event.{{cite web |date=November 22, 2023 |title=Otto adds another quota slot and more gold as USA tops the medal table at the Para Pan American Games |url=https://www.usarchery.org/article/otto-adds-another-quota-slot-and-more-gold-as-usa-tops-the-medal-table-at-the-para-pan-american-games |access-date=July 15, 2024 |website=USA Archery}}{{cite web |url=https://www.santiago2023.org/en/noticias/sport-agency/detalle/4645/para-archery-usa-wins-gold-thanks-to-tracy-otto |title=Para Archery: USA Wins Gold Thanks to Tracy Otto |website=santiago2023.org |date=November 22, 2023 |access-date=July 15, 2024}} She then competed at the 2024 Para Pan American Championships in April 2024 and won a gold medal in the mixed team W1 with Jason Tabansky, and a gold medal in the individual W1 event.{{cite web |date=April 26, 2024 |title=Otto and Tabansky seek to set the tone for the weekend in claiming the USA's first gold in Brazil |url=https://www.usarchery.org/article/otto-and-tabansky-seek-to-set-the-tone-for-the-weekend-in-claiming-the-usa-s-first-gold-in-brazil |access-date=July 15, 2024 |website=USA Archery}}{{cite web |date=April 27, 2024 |title=Golden finish for the USA at the 2024 Para Pan American Championships |url=https://www.usarchery.org/article/golden-finish-for-the-usa-at-the-2024-para-pan-american-championships |access-date=July 15, 2024 |website=USA Archery}}{{cite web |url=https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/tracy-otto |title=Tracy Otto |website=teamusa.com |access-date=July 15, 2024}}
On May 13, 2024, she was named to the roster to represent the United States at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.{{cite web |url=https://www.plantcityobserver.com/plant-city-paralympian-to-take-her-shot-in-paris/ |title=Plant City Paralympian To Take Her Shot In Paris |work=Plant City Observer |first=Michelle |last=Caceres |date=June 27, 2024 |access-date=July 15, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.fox13news.com/news/plant-city-para-archer-qualifies-paralympics-after-surviving-brutal-attack |title=Plant City para archer qualifies for Paralympics after surviving brutal attack |website=Fox13news.com |first=Allie |last=Corey |date=July 15, 2024 |access-date=July 15, 2024}}
Otto finished eighth in the Paralympic women's individual W1 event.{{Cite web |title=Otto opens with a win before exiting to eventual back-to-back Paralympic champion |url=https://www.usarchery.org/article/otto-opens-with-a-win-before-exiting-to-eventual-back-to-back-paralympic-champion |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=USA Archery |language=en}} She again competed with Jason Tabansky in the Paralympic mixed team W1 event, where the duo finished sixth.{{Cite web |title=Paris 2024, where medals and memories meets marriage and motherhood |url=https://www.usarchery.org/article/paris-2024-where-medals-and-memories-meets-marriage-and-motherhood |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=USA Archery |language=en}}
Otto aims to compete in the 2028 Summer Paralympics in Los Angeles.{{Cite web |title=Back from Paris, Tracy Otto now practicing for Los Angeles |url=https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2024/09/25/paralympic-tracy-otto-archery-paris-los-angeles |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=baynews9.com |language=en}}
Personal life
Otto is from Florida. Before October 2019, Otto was an "aspiring fitness model".
On October 24, 2019, Otto's ex-boyfriend, Francpiero Del Medico, broke into her home and attacked Otto and her new boyfriend, Rick Riessle. Riessle was shot eight times with a pellet gun and stabbed in the back puncturing his lung.{{cite web |date=January 17, 2024 |title=Tracy Otto, chasing her dreams through archery, is keen to be a light in the world |url=https://www.usarchery.org/article/tracy-otto-chasing-her-dreams-through-archery-is-keen-to-be-a-light-in-the-world |access-date=July 15, 2024 |website=USA Archery}} Otto was shot five times and stabbed in the back of the neck. One pellet so severely damaged her left eye, surgeons had to remove it. He also shot a pellet down her throat, and sexually assaulted her with the weapon while firing it as he did.{{cite web |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/2019/10/25/riverview-man-sexually-assaulted-woman-with-pellet-gun-deputies-say/ |title=Riverview man sexually assaulted woman with pellet gun. She may never walk again. |newspaper=Tampa Bay Times |first=Tony |last=Marrero |date=October 25, 2019 |access-date=July 15, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/tampa/2023/03/30/archery-paralympic-games-paralympics-pellet-gun-attack/ |title=Hillsborough woman aims for Paralympics after pellet gun, knife attack |newspaper=Tampa Bay Times |first=Tony |last=Marrero |date=March 30, 2023 |access-date=July 15, 2024}} As a result of the attack, Otto was left paralyzed from the chest down, making her a C5 quadriplegic. She uses a wheelchair.
Following her rehabilitation, Otto's family placed her in a nursing home in Chicago.{{Cite web |last=Pugmire |first=Jerome |date=2024-08-29 |title=Five years after brutal attack severed her spine, Tracy Otto proudly calls herself a Paralympian |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/years-after-brutal-attack-severed-spine-tracy-otto-113242944 |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=ABC News |language=en |agency=Associated Press}} Riessle brought Otto back to Florida, where he is now her full-time caregiver and arrow agent.{{cite web |url=https://www.fox13news.com/news/hillsborough-woman-finds-passion-for-archery-after-brutal-attack-leaves-her-paralyzed-from-chest-down |title=Hillsborough woman finds passion for archery after brutal attack leaves her paralyzed from chest down |website=Fox13news.com |first=Allie |last=Corey |date=April 18, 2023 |access-date=July 15, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://nypost.com/2023/03/02/i-was-paralyzed-by-my-jealous-ex-now-im-a-paralympian/ |title=I was paralyzed by my jealous ex when he caught me in bed with a new man — now I’m a Paralympian |newspaper=New York Post |first=Jane |last=Herz |date=March 2, 2023 |access-date=July 15, 2024}} In September 2024, Otto announced her engagement to Riessle and that she was pregnant, with her due date in January.{{Cite web |title=Paralympic Archer Tracy Otto Announces She's Pregnant Hours After Fiancé Proposes Under the Eiffel Tower |url=https://people.com/paralympic-archer-tracy-otto-announces-pregnancy-after-eiffel-tower-engagement-paris-8705134 |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=People.com |language=en}}
Awards
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{World Archery|48601}}
- {{Team USA|new_id=tracy-otto|sport=para-archery}}
{{100 Women by BBC in 2024|state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otto, Tracy}}
Category:21st-century American sportswomen
Category:American female archers
Category:Archers at the 2023 Parapan American Games
Category:Medalists at the 2023 Parapan American Games
Category:Archers at the 2024 Summer Paralympics
Category:Paralympic archers for the United States
Category:Sportspeople from Plant City, Florida
Category:University of Tampa alumni
Category:American wheelchair sports competitors
Category:Parapan American Games gold medalists for the United States
Category:Paralympic wheelchair archers