For those who aren’t too familiar with the popular fictional Marvel franchise X-Men, one of its main protagonists is Charles Francis Xavier, or ‘Professor X’.
He is the head of the X-Men group, teaches younger ‘mutants’ in his school and, although not the most physically daunting of superheroes, he has the highest power: the ability to read and delve into others’ minds.
Of course, this is fictional, but the nearest thing archery has to Professor X’s mental potency is Jens Fudge.
Born in Mtarfa, Malta, to his British father – who was there on military duty – and his Danish mother, Fudge moved to his maternal roots aged 10, after also growing up in Norway and Germany, where he has lived ever since.
He was born with club feet – a common birth defect where, from birth, children have inward- and downward-pointing feet due to a shortened Achilles tendon – though he was not officially diagnosed until his 20s.
It meant he was unable to compete in athletics or football, but the versatility of archery, where anyone can participate, was the sport Fudge, now 59, leaned into at 21, thanks to an invitation from a carpenter who was building a bow in the same wood shop where he was working.
“Obviously you have to stand still and deal with wind, which does affect me quite a lot, but it’s mainly the upper body that’s required for archery, so I was hooked from day one,” said Fudge.
“At that point, I didn’t really regard myself as having a disability. I was just living my normal life, though hindered in some aspects. That came later when I started going to competitions.”
