GALLERY: Quadriplegia requires unique solutions for archer Trewhella

Australian archer Ian Trewhella competed in the men’s short metric round event for athletes with tetraplegia at the 1980 summer Paralympics winning a silver medal. An athlete with quadriplegia (tetraplegia) has limited sensation and muscle engagement in the arms as well as the legs, so Trewhella used a variety of aids and strategies to hold the bow and arrow. Trewhella is using a recurve bow, which requires considerable strength to pull. Nowadays, archers with tetraplegia shoot with compound bows, which require less effort and thus enable archers to be more accurate.