Light at the end of the tunnel for visually impaired archer Christos Misos

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT is presented by WIAWIS.

First totally blind archer in Cyprus, Christos Misos competes in the visually impaired 1 category.

The 45-year-old’s journey started in a school for blind people, and he now goes on to win medals at major events.

“It’s a big story,” he started. “I got blind in 2014 because of some kind of virus that affected my eyes.”

Losing sight took a toll on his mental state. 

“At first, I was really down. Everything was very bad. I was depressed. It hurt me a lot,” he recalled.

He took up archery in 2015. And the sport appeared to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Even though he knew nothing about it, he committed himself to a new passion. 

“It had a big impact on my life.”

The beginnings weren’t easy. He was the first archer in Cyprus that couldn’t see anything.

“Our federation had no idea,” Christos explained. “We started slowly, slowly getting the idea.”

“We tested really poor sites to shoot. Our equipment was low quality. But meantime, my knowledge expanded.”

As fast as he advanced, he made ambitious plans. And he realised them! 

“I tried to draw in my mind the field and built it myself,” he said. “Now I have a small field at home. I also built a small indoor room to practice.”

“It was difficult, but I’m really happy. It’s almost impossible to become better without having a place to practice at home.”

Christos’ obstinacy resulted in two silver medals at the European Championships and a silver won at the ‘s-Hertogenbosch 2019 World Archery Para Championships.

Success wasn’t his only motivation. He wanted and still wishes to demonstrate to people there aren’t any barriers.

“Time after time, archery for visually impaired people became more accepted in my country and my community. I tried to encourage many other blind people to the sport,” he said.

Misos fully devotes his life to archery. He practices, he learns, and he tries to develop in each possible area – as an athlete, as a coach and also as a judge.

“I’m a level 2 coach and level 1 judge in field archery. During all these years, I try to get to know every rule and be involved in our sport,” he claimed.

He suffered mentally when the virus took away his sight in 2014, but in archery, he found a new, positive way and now attempts to spread his story to other impaired people.

“They invite me to many schools and events so that I can show what I can do as a blind person.”

The story of Christos and other visually impaired archers come as a message to other people whose lives seemed to collapse. 

“My goal is to encourage many people with problems to have a purpose in and do such sport.”

“When you lose sight, the most important thing is improving your mental life,” Christos said with a wide smile.

The para archer from Cyprus found a purpose and improved his mental state. And there’s one reason behind it: archery.

“It’s my way of life now.”