Stetson Bardfield earns gold in R5 Mixed Air Rifle Prone SH2 at the 2023 Parapan America Games in Santiago, Chile, Nov. 20, defending his title from the 2019 Games.
“I am feeling amazing,” said Bardfield, a Tokyo Paralympian. “I was definitely a little anxious at the beginning. I have a lot of worthy competitors, but I stuck to my shot plan, and it ended up carrying me through.”
Bardfield shot a final score of 253.4, breaking the Parapan American Games record he formerly set in 2019. The 2020 Paralympian triumphed over Alexandre Galgani, of Brazil, who took second. When Bardfield and Galgani were the last two competitors in the final, there were just two single shots left to take. Bardfield only had a .1 lead before the finals two shots.
“I was just trying to hold on,” said Bardfield. “At any time a shot can go wrong, and any person can take [the lead] from you in an instant. It was a very intense experience.”
Bardfield mentioned that he could feel his heart beating fast but that his mindset was to just do as best as he can and see where it goes from there. His mindset paid off, as he has now earned back-to-back Parapan American Games titles. He earned his first title at the 2019 Lima Parapan American Games.