SANTIAGO, Chile – Four archers from the United States are this week in South America for Stage 4 of the inaugural Hyundai World Archery Para Series, which runs from Wednesday until Sunday.
Leading the U.S. team is 2024 Paralympic champion, Jason Tabansky (pictured above). He is joined in the W1 division by Ryan Lindstrom. Karen Sternfeld will look to continue her upward trajectory in para recurve women following appearances in Thailand, Czech Republic and India. The quartet is completed by three-time Paralympian, KJ Polish in para compound men.
Sternfeld has featured at all three previous stages, while Tabansky has competed at two and both Lindstrom and Polish at one. Tabansky took silver in Thailand back in April, before securing gold in Stage 2, held in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.
Polish was top seed in compound men in Nove Mesto, before losing his quarterfinal contest to eventual bronze medalist, Nathan MacQueen (GBR), via a shootoff.
Sternfeld’s qualification scores have steadily improved throughout the year. She posted 462 in Thailand, before scoring 553 in Czech Republic and then 564 in India.
Lindstrom (pictured), meanwhile, registered a personal best score of 616 in qualification in Czech Republic. The 42-year-old from Florida is still relatively new to international archery. He only made the decision to compete after watching Tabansky win gold in Paris two years ago, and though a podium regular on the national circuit, Lindstrom is fully aware of what it will take to challenge internationally.
“The biggest difference to me is obviously the pressure turns up a bit but that's OK because it helps me focus,” he explained. “My two best scores were shot at international tournaments.
“Competing at this level I feel it truly solidifies the feeling that I'm competing with the best in the world rather than just showing up and shooting at a tournament. That's a really cool feeling.”
Lindstrom won bronze at the 142nd USA Target Nationals and silver at the 2026 U.S. Open, which took place in Springfield, Mo. in August. Since then, the focus has been finishing the year strong.
He added, “I have been using the rest of the outdoor season in the states as practice and training. I’ve been trying different techniques and equipment, including traveling to San Antonio to do some fine tuning, which I feel went really well.”
This is the fourth of five stages in the inaugural World Para Series. The fifth and final stage is in Dubai, UAE from December 5-10.
You can follow the scores, results and progress of the four U.S. archers, with medal matches taking place across Saturday and Sunday.
From Chile, all four USA archers head to Lima, Peru for the 2026 Para Pan American Championships, and a much larger U.S. consisting of 17 athletes. This event runs from October 21-27, with quota spots available for the 2027 Para Pan Am Games, which are also in Lima, Peru next August.
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