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Tracy Otto rises from the ashes to become Paralympic archer

Tracy Otto’s journey to becoming a Paralympic archer after being left for dead five years ago by an ex-boyfriend was like “making beauty out of ashes”, the American told AFP on Saturday.

The 28-year-old and her boyfriend Ricky Riessle were attacked as they slept in their Florida home by the jealous former partner.

He shot Otto several times including through the left eye with a pellet gun and stabbed her. “My spinal cord was severed or transected,” she said.

Riessle was also shot several times and stabbed in the back but he recovered and aids Otto when she performs.

Their attacker left the house, sat down on the lawn, rang the police and handed himself in. He later received a 40-year jail sentence.

“I try to think of it as making beauty out of ashes, you know, rising as a phoenix would,” Otto told AFP after winning her first-round match at the Paris Paralympics.

“Showing the world that regardless of your circumstances, you really can do anything that you put your heart and mind to.”

Otto said she will be forever grateful Riessle has been there for her throughout the traumatic aftermath.

She suffered a tough childhood and when her family abandoned her during her rehabilitation, he came to pick her up from the nursing home in Chicago.

“Him coming to take me from the nursing home… yeah, that was a moment that I’ll never forget,” she said.

“I remember so vividly him telling me that everything is going to be OK and we’re going to build the best life that we can together.

“And look at where we are now.”

Otto, who releases the arrows through a device controlled by her mouth, says she is “so blessed” to have Riessle in her life.

“Honestly, at first it was a struggle, you know, just coming off of a relationship with someone that tries to end your life, that you once loved,” she said.

“Hindsight is 20/20, obviously. So looking back at it, it’s kind of cringey.”