Photo By EJ Hersom | U.S. Army Spc. Chasity Kuczer reacts to her opponent matching her score, arrow for...... read more read more
WASHINGTON, May 24, 2016 — As the crowd goes silent, the soldier steadies her breath, draws her bow, takes aim and releases her arrow, confident of her shot.
Army Spc. Chasity Kuczer, a reservist assigned to the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Knox, Kentucky, took silver in the individual open compound class at the Invictus Games in Orlando, Florida, May 9. During the finals, she matched medically retired Canadian Cpl. Luc Rolland Joseph Martin arrow-for-arrow in two sets.
“It was absolutely insane walking out in the arena the first time,” said Kuczer, who is also a member of the USA Archery team. “I had no idea what to expect. But like I practice for archery, I blocked everything out. When I was shooting, it was just me, my bow and my arrows, and the target. I stayed as calm as I could and focused. I took each shot one arrow at a time.”
She said it was great to stay arrow for arrow with her competitor because he is a well-experienced archer. “Unfortunately, … I fell behind,” she said. Kuczer hit two 9s and an 8, while Martin hit two 10s and a 9 -- 10 being the center ring of the target.
“I’m still very proud of my accomplishment,” she said. “I gave him a run for his money. I enjoyed the experience; I had fun, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world.”
Team Match
Kuczer didn’t have to wait long before matching up against Martin again. They faced off in the final round of the team compound, as the U.S. and Canadian teams were locked in a tie.
“By the time we went out there, we were all exhausted, but the adrenaline rush woke us up,” she said. “I had already shot out there so the initial nerves were gone. While my teammates were shooting, I would tell them the time we had left, and I would tell them, ‘Relax, you’ve got this.’”
Canada’s archers went first and shot all 9s.
“I was the first to shoot [after the Canadians],” Kuczer said, “so I pulled up and focused on that 10 ring, released and almost shot a dead center 10! It was amazing, and my team followed me with great shoots. … As a team we did great. We worked together and had fun.”
The U.S. team took the gold, and Canada took silver in the team compound.
Kuczer said she was so tuned out during the matches that she had to go back and watch them on television. “I had no idea what was going on around me while I was shooting,” she said. “I’m happy with how I competed. I was up against some great archers. Being at such a high-profile shoot is completely new to me. I’m completely floored with how the team rounds went. My teammates shot excellently.”
Kuczer said she is honored to have represented the U.S. team at the Invictus Games. “It was an amazing feeling, not only representing the U.S., but also in proving to other women that we can compete with the men,” she said. “Afterward, I had some parents with little girls who wanted to get pictures with me. It’s great knowing that I can be a role model and inspire people, male and female, to overcome, adapt and better themselves.”
Paralympic Trials
Kuczer, a former locomotive mechanic who has a bilateral labral tear, nerve damage, sciatica and problems with her hips and lower back, went straight from the Invictus Games to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, for the second leg of the Paralympic trials for archery.
“The USA Archery team is a big family,” she said. “We pick on each other, but we have a strong bond. We support and help each other. The glue holding us together is great coaches who would bend over backwards to help us. Most of them are former Invictus Games or Warrior Games athletes who understand what we’re going through.”
After the second Paralympic trials, Kuczer is still the top-ranked women’s open compound para-archer in the U.S. She will be competing in the Czech Republic in June to try to earn a slot in the Paralympics, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro in September.
“In the Czech Republic, I must earn either an individual or team slot to have any chance to go to the Paralympics,” she said. “Then I have to place first in the third Para trials to be able to go. I am feeling good about my abilities. I have been practicing and training very hard.”
Kuczer said the Invictus Games, Paralympics and the Department of Defense Warrior Games are more than just competing.
“Activities like these do amazing things mentally and physically for wounded and ill soldiers. It gives them their lives back. Adaptive sports save lives; they show wounded and ill soldiers that they can still do things. It’s all about overcoming, adapting and feeling normal,” she said. “As for me, I’m honored to have represented the U.S. I’m proud of my accomplishments competing in the Invictus Games. Those were the icing on the cake to an already amazing experience.”
| Date Taken: | 05.24.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.14.2016 13:08 |
| Story ID: | 203958 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 36 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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