Jordan White: Team USA’s youngest athlete relishing chance to compete at Paris 2024 Paralympic Games
Jordan White is the youngest member of the US team at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games where he will compete in archery.
15-year-old Jordan White is taking the concept of study abroad to new heights this summer, leaving the United States of America for only the second time in his short career to compete at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
While most of his peers prepare to settle back into the traditional classroom setting for another year of studies, White is taking his educational pursuits on the road, hoping to learn a trick or two from his fellow competitors at the Paralympic Games.
“I really have nothing to prove” White told USA Archery in an interview ahead of the Games. “If I succeed, then that is fantastic. I’ll be super happy. If I don’t do great, then I can really use this to learn how I can succeed in future competitions.”
The teenage archer sat, or rather stood, for his first lesson on Thursday 29 August, when he got his first taste of Paralympic competition during the men’s individual recurve open ranking round at the Esplanade des Invalides.
“It’s far different than I expected,” said White. “I wasn’t expecting it to be this big.
I wasn’t expecting it to be this exciting. I wasn’t expecting to be so nervous. It’s just all so much more intense than I was thinking.”
While the stage may have been frightening, White’s performance certainly didn’t show any signs of stage fright. He shot a personal best, posting a score of 580 points to secure the 27th seed for the elimination rounds.
“I am really proud of myself,” asserted White. “I understand that this is a really big deal, and I’m just trying to take it all in and enjoy it so I can use it as a reference for future Games I may be able to go to.”
Nonetheless, he’ll get his first chance to apply the lessons learned from the ranking round during his 1/16th elimination round match on Wednesday 4 September.
