| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | November 28, 1995 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Home town | Plant City, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Tampa | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | Para-archery | ||||||||||||||
| Disability | Quadriplegic | ||||||||||||||
| Disability class | W1 | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Tracy Otto (born November 28, 1995) is an American Paralympic archer. She represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.
Otto began practicing para-archery in March 2021. [1]
Otto made her international debut for the United States at the 2023 World Para Archery Championships where she finished in ninth place. [2] 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. [3] [4] 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. [5] [6] [7]
On May 13, 2024, she was named to the roster to represent the United States at the 2024 Summer Paralympics. [8] [9]
Otto finished eighth in the Paralympic women's individual W1 event. [10] She again competed with Jason Tabansky in the Paralympic mixed team W1 event, where the duo finished sixth. [11]
Otto aims to compete in the 2028 Summer Paralympics in Los Angeles. [12]
Otto is from Florida. Before October 2019, Otto was an "aspiring fitness model". [1]
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. [13] 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. [14] [15] As a result of the attack, Otto was left paralyzed from the chest down, making her a C5 quadriplegic. She uses a wheelchair. [1]
Following her rehabilitation, Otto's family placed her in a nursing home in Chicago. [16] Riessle brought Otto back to Florida, [16] where he is now her full-time caregiver and arrow agent. [17] [18] In September 2024, Otto announced her engagement to Riessle and that she was pregnant, with her due date in January. [19] [12]
In December 2024, Tracy Otto was included on the BBC's 100 Women list. [20]
