With established archery hubs in Charlotte, Salt Lake City and Chula Vista, a fourth centre in San Antonio could prove particularly valuable for para archers – especially under the guidance of one of the world’s best.
Tabansky already has a model in mind, inspired by Arcum Tampico in Mexico, run by his friend and current Mexico team manager Jorge Payan. Earlier this year, he visited the facility and, much to his surprise, was invited to give a talk to hundreds of people about his journey to Paralympic gold – after being told to expect “40 tops”.
“They had a whole stage set up for me. I got to do a one-on-one talk with him, sharing my journey – not just to Paris, but in adaptive archery – reaching out to people who are struggling, trying to find their identity, or looking for a sport to try,” he said.
“The goal is to get more people involved in this sport and help it grow. That’s been a big change for me – having the opportunity to talk to people, inspire a little change, and hopefully get them involved in archery.”
Tabansky admits he needs to improve how he manages his time between coaching and competing, but that didn’t stop him from medalling in Korea – a country where he lived for three years while on duty.
He lost only to China’s Zhang Tianxin in the W1 men’s final – a result he said was influenced by a physical issue with his right arm.
“My hand falls asleep and my fingers go numb. It just so happened that on the first shot, when I went to set my anchor and release, I didn’t feel how much pressure I was putting on my trigger and accidentally popped the shot off without being fully set.
“Fortunately, it hit the paper – unfortunately, it was a low six.”
