Boerne resident Jason Tabansky will represent the United States at the Paralympic Games in Paris, France later this summer.
The Rio Grande Valley native will compete in the Wheelchair 1 Open Archery Division.
The able-bodied Olympic games start this weekend in France and the Paralympic Games follow a few weeks later.
Tabansky said he’s pumped and ready to go.
“I’m stoked, super excited,” he said. “I know that when I get there, I’ll be nervous and I’ll have to work on handling that.”
Tabansky is currently ranked No. 3 in the world in his classification so an Olympic medal is realistic for the Boerne resident who said he shoots most mornings in his driveway.
“I’ve been training a lot and want to do the best I possibly can,” he said. “If that gets me to the gold medal match, I’ll be happy.”
Tabansky is actually competing in two events in France. He is the only American in his division and there are 13 in the field. He’ll also compete with a female partner in a mixed competition as well.
Each Paralympian opens by shooting 72 arrows (12 series of 6 arrows) for seeding at an 80-centimeter target that is 50 meters away.
After that, it goes to head-to-head competition with 15 arrows (5 series of 3 arrows.)
Archers are eliminated in the head-to-head competition and two will compete for gold, with one earning silver, while two others will vie for bronze.
“I want to go out and shoot the best 72 arrows I can, and after that, shoot the best 15 arrows that I can,” he said.
The Boerne resident leaves Aug. 20 for the Paralympic Games that are being held Aug. 28 – Sept. 9.
The road to Boerne
Tabansky grew up along the border in Brownsville and joined the army right after high school. He admitted to falling in love with military life and wanted to make a career of it “or until they kicked me out,” he said.
He was part of a helicopter crew and was stationed in England. One day in 2015, he was on some steps covering up an aircraft on a rainy day and slipped off one of the steps and was injured.
Tabansky said he suffered a bruised spinal cord vs. a severed or a broke cord. Specifically he was diagnosed as having a tetraplegic injury, which he describes as “impairment in all four limbs and their core.”
Because his spine wasn’t broken or severed, Tabansky said he’s still hoping to walk again one day.
“I think of Jim Carrey in that movie ‘Dumb and Dumber’ when he says, ‘so you’re telling me there’s a chance,’” Tabansky said.
Until then, Tabansky wants to live life to the fullest.
“Just because you suffered an injury doesn’t mean that life is over,” he said.
After the injury, he began treatment with the VA and eventually ended up in San Antonio. He lived there for a bit and moved to Boerne a few years back.
He was medically retired by the military in 2016 after 15.5 years of service.
When he moved out of S.A., Tabansky said the Gary Sinise Foundation helped to build his home in Boerne. Tabansky said he’s met the actor on two different occasions and had nothing but positive things to say about him.
“He’s amazing, that guy has a heart of gold,” Tabansky said. “One of the nicest human beings in the world.”
When the Gary Sinise Foundation helped build the Tabansky house, they made sure to design the driveway so he could shoot from it and now he’s off to the Paralympics.
“It’s a new calling for me and a new way to serve people,” Tabansky said.
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