Jordan White: Team USA’s youngest athlete relishing chance to compete at Paris 2024 Paralympic Games
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.
A chance encounter: Jordan White’s introduction to archery
White didn’t spend his entire childhood fantasizing about Para archery. In fact, he didn’t know much, if anything at all, about the sport until a fateful decision taken by his family during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“During COVID-19 we wanted to find something which allowed us to get out of the house, and still stay safe," White told USA Archery. "So, we decided to try out archery.”
He’d tried baseball, golf, soccer and swimming, but nothing came close to the feeling that archery gave him.
“I fell in love with it because of the feeling when a shot breaks perfectly and hits right in the center of the target," White told the Austin American-Statesman. "That feeling is unparalleled."
It certainly didn’t hurt that he seemed to have a natural knack for the sport. White came second out of 40 kids in a tournament organized by his YMCA at the end of his introductory season.
He decided to stick with the sport, competing in the barebow discipline for a few seasons, before switching to the Olympic recurve bow in 2022. It was around that time when White learned he might be eligible for Para archery.
"I didn't even know that I was eligible to compete in Para archery before last summer but as soon as I learned about it, I knew that if I put in the work I'd be in with a great chance of going to Paris and so that's been my goal the whole time,” White said in the same interview with USA Archery.
He quickly made a name for himself at the domestic qualification events, earning four podium finishes in his first season of competition in Para archery. It was enough to snag him one of two available quotas for Team USA archers in the men’s individual recurve open event.
Before he knew it, White was packing his bags for a business trip to Paris.
Hard work, curiosity and resilience feed Jordan White’s drive for medals at Paris 2024
If practice makes perfect, Jordan White is on the fast track to perfection in Para archery. The 15-year-old practices six days a week, three hours a day according to Texan television station KVUE.
He trains in a vacant lot owned by a neighboring family near his hometown of Cedar Park, Texas, setting up a target at 70 meters - the distance archers stand away from the target at the Olympics and Paralympics - and meticulously practicing his craft.
“It's not a surprise that I've had good things come my way with hard work, but I never expected it to be this amazing," White told KVUE.
If Instagram updates are an indicator of White’s mood, the teenager is thoroughly enjoying his time in the City of Lights.
It didn’t take him long to weigh in on the famous chocolate muffins, which he gave a 10 out of 10 rating by the way, or post updates on various experiences in the Athletes Village, such as a machine that creates customized postage stamps for athletes or an espresso machine that prints foam designs onto the athletes’ beverages.
His attraction to the unique experiences on offer to athletes at Paris 2024 may come from his interest in engineering, robotics and math. He studies all three as part of an engineering program at his high school. He even takes Latin classes for fun.
While that may seem like a daunting challenge for a high school student, White is more than familiar with adversity.
"I have congenital femoral deficiency, which is pretty much a fancy way of saying that I have one leg shorter than the other," he said. "I have a variety of other issues with my leg that have caused me to have over 20 surgeries."
The recovery times from each procedure eat into his training, vacations and personal life. Nonetheless, he remains committed to archery.
“Without that strength that's come along with all of my surgeries, I wouldn't be the person I am today," proclaimed White. "I wouldn't be the archer I am today. I wouldn't be as resilient as an archer, both mentally and emotionally."
His resilience, confidence and curiosity have buoyed him through the first part of his journey at Paris 2024. Who knows where those attributes will take him in the elimination rounds and future competitions?