Voices of Arizona: Eric Bennett went from bow hunting to Paralympics archery trailblazer

The Paralympics begin Wednesday in Paris. And among the thousands of competitors, several call Arizona home.

In a series of special Voices of Arizona segments this week, Jill Ryan dives into the stories of our state’s homegrown Paralympians.

Born and raised in Arizona, Eric Bennett comes from a family of hunters. And he joined his dad in bow hunting at around just 7 or 8 years old.

But then at 15, a drunk driver changed everything.

“And the vehicle that we were in rolled and as a result it crushed and pinched off my arm, my right arm from just above the elbow,” Bennett said.

He credits his dad, who was uninjured, for saving his life.

But Bennett felt like he had lost his ability to bow hunt forever. That was until about a decade later, when in preparation for a trip, his dad made a hunting license mistake, signing Bennett up for a bow. But his Dad had an idea: Bennett could use his feet.

“I thought he was a little bit crazy but I went home for the summer and he and I worked on it and engineered a solution and I was able to figure out a way to shoot it. It was crude and it wasn’t very accurate but it worked and allowed me to participate with my family again in our hunting trip,” Bennett said.

He went on to join competitions, trailblazing a recurve archery technique using his left arm and mouth. His dad cheered him on in his first Paralympics in 2008. But looking back, Bennett regrets how long it took him to return to archery.

“There’s always a way and I’m proof of that,” Bennett said. “I literally never thought I would shoot a bow again and now I am standing in the Olympic Village in Paris at my fifth Paralympic games.”