Jordan White to travel to Paris as USA’s youngest ever Paralympian

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT is presented by WIAWIS.

In most people’s teenage years, there are more questions than answers. Not for Jordan White, however.

The 15-year-old phenomenon has turned the archery world upside down by booking himself a spot on team USA’s plane to the Paris Paralympics this summer.

Born in 2008 makes White the youngest ever member for USA’s Paralympic team and one of the youngest competing athletes in the 2024 Paralympic Games full stop. 

“I’m in a strange state where I know I’m going to Paris and I’m excited about it, but I still can’t believe it,” he said when asked on his achievement.

“When I factor in that I’m accomplishing this at only 15, I can’t even comprehend that. I’m going to keep doing my thing, shooting my bow and everything will work out alright.”

White’s inability to fully ‘comprehend’ reaching Paris is more than understandable. Many archers dedicate their whole lives to the sport and may even get to their late forties and still not compete in the biggest event on the para calendar.

Fellow USA teammate Jason Tabansky is 25 years White’s senior at 40 and only recently qualified for his maiden Paralympics due to a slot being open following the injury of Australian Christopher Davis.

White knows though that having a supportive family behind him has made a world of difference. His mother, who travels with him to every competition, is a certified archery coach herself and his father helped him build a shooting range nearby their home in Texas, giving their son somewhere to practise every day. 

“Having such an encouraging family to help me through all the highs and lows of this crazy journey, means the world to me and I’m sure it will help me perform the best I can in Paris.”

White confirmed his spot at Les Invalides in May at the USA Paralympic Trials in the Gator Cup, Florida where the top two archers with the highest arrow averages would go to Paris.

White ended up winning the Paralympic trials tournament and he talked through the moment he found out that he’d be joining Tabansky, Eric Bennett, Kevin Polish, Matt Stutzman and Tracy Otto. 

“It took 10 or 15 minutes for them to be published where I was waiting in suspense but after I saw them, I was ecstatic.”

“My mom was with me at the time, but the rest of my family saw it on Instagram when team USA posted it before I even got a chance to tell them so, that was pretty funny to hear my siblings talk about that,” the teenager added.

White competed in the para world ranking event in Nove Mesto in June in an effort to accustom himself to international events.

It was first time he’d travelled outside of the USA let alone compete making it a huge learning experience for White. 

His high standards at such a young age, that have put him in this position, meant he was still disappointed with himself though.

“Form wise, I definitely need to work on my shot timing a little bit, it was inconsistent throughout the tournament, but I’ll also be spending a lot more time, focusing on my mental game, leading up to Paris,” he said on what specifically he could’ve done to improve his 33rd place finish. 

“I’ve never shot at such a huge tournament or dealt with that level of pressure before, and so being able to have that mental strength will really allow me to translate those scores and practise for the big stage.”

Jessica Stretton of Great Britain made history in Rio 2016 as the youngest Paralympic champion ever at 16. White, won’t have even reached that age by the time Paris 2024 concludes.

“I think having clear goals and the discipline to meet them, really sets me apart,” said White who does his homework in between lessons at school to shoot in the afternoon. “I’ve known I wanted to go to Paris for over a year now, and I understood the steps it would take to get there.”

It may be unlikely for a 15-year-old to stroll into his first Paralympic Games, fend off the greatest para archers on the planet and bring home a medal for his country. 

But archery is a sport decided by fine, minute margins. It’s a free hit for White in the summer, and stranger things have happened.

Images courtesy of Jess Beal and USA Archery.