This weekend’s Chicago Para Archery Championship, the second leg of the brand-new Para Americas Archery Cup, features one of the fastest-growing divisions in para archery: W1, the most impaired classification. In just the past couple years, the W1 field is deeper, stronger, and showcasing a remarkable storyline that blends inspiration, friendship, and fierce competition.
At the center of it all are 2024 Paralympic Champion Jason Tabansky and his teammate-turned-rival Ryan Lindstrom—two archers who will battle for gold in Chicago.
For Lindstrom, today’s gold medal match is more than just another milestone in his young archery career. Just twelve months ago, he wasn’t competing at all. Instead, he was in the stands watching Tabansky win Paralympic gold in Paris. That moment, he says, changed everything.
“A year ago, I was there watching him shoot,” Lindstrom reflected. “It kind of is what pushed me to finally take the step and start shooting. And now being here, shooting against him and on the same team today, is definitely an honor and it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”
Since picking up a bow seriously in December, Lindstrom’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric. His scores have climbed steadily, improving by 20–30 points at nearly every tournament. In Chicago, he capped his season with a new personal best and a share of a continental record alongside Tabansky.
“Every tournament’s been an upgrade,” Lindstrom said. “So for me to hit it this weekend at the final tournament of the season was just incredible.”
For Tabansky, who has carried the U.S. flag for W1 archery in recent years, seeing the field expand—and seeing an athlete he inspired now pushing him head-to-head—brings renewed energy.
“I’ve always told people, you’re never gonna improve unless you find something that challenges you,” Tabansky said. “Having Ryan and watching him progress just pushes me, but it’s also gonna help push the other archers in the U.S. Our W1 group has grown from just myself to—I counted seven now. So we’re gonna have some good competition going into LA28.”
The Paralympic champion is also using this weekend as fuel for the months ahead. With the World Archery Para Championships in Korea on the horizon, Tabansky said competitions like this remind him why he started shooting in the first place.
“These competitions bring that fire back out,” he said. “As soon as I get back home, it’s gonna be 100 miles an hour—shooting every single day and making sure my equipment is performing at the top. But at the end of the day, I’m doing this for fun. That’s what got me into archery, and that’s what keeps me going.”
As the two friends take the field, it is clear that the real story is bigger than who would walk away with the gold medal. The growth of the W1 division in the Americas, the rise of new talent like Lindstrom, and the continued excellence of Tabansky show how quickly para archery is evolving.
What was once a one-man race for the U.S. is now a division filled with competition, camaraderie, and a shared drive to push each other toward new heights. Catch the finals live Sunday on Archery+ as USA has five archers in the mix for gold finals.
