40 years in prison for ex-boyfriend after attack on Paralympics star – she now experiences emotional days in Paris

After a terrible attack, Tracy Otto discovered a new joy in life through archery. She is currently celebrating private moments of happiness at the Paralympics.

Paris – American athlete Tracy Otto had a turbulent few days in Paris. She took part in the Paralympics and finished eighth in the W1 archery competition on Saturday, August 31. But the most emotional moment for Otto came later that evening.

Paralympic star kept his secret during the competition

Under the Eiffel Tower, her boyfriend and future husband Ricky Riessle proposed. Otto shared several pictures of this special moment on Instagram and wrote: “I may not have won a medal today, but I'm coming home with something shiny.” She added the hashtags “I said yes,” “engaged,” and “Paris.”

But that wasn't all. On Monday, Otto revealed another happy news on Instagram. In a new post, the 28-year-old announced: “We kept a secret …”

Paralympic star only started archery two years ago

The secret was that Otto was pregnant. The archer was already pregnant during her first Paralympic Games. After finishing eighth in the individual event, she finished sixth in the mixed competition.

Otto only started para-archery in March 2021. Two years earlier, she was an aspiring fitness model until a horrific attack changed her life. On October 24, 2019, Otto's ex-boyfriend Francpiero del Medico broke into her home and brutally attacked her and her boyfriend, Ricky Neuen Riessle.

“I had broken up with my ex, kicked him out, told him to leave, he packed up all his things, he was gone and I had changed all the locks on my house.” “Everything was done,” Otto said in an interview with BBC Sports.

Ex-boyfriend was sentenced to 40 years in prison last year

But that didn't stop her ex-boyfriend from taking revenge. Armed with an air rifle and a knife, he broke into Otto's house while she and Riessle were sleeping. He shot Riessle eight times and stabbed him in the back, causing a collapsed lung.

He then shot Otto in the left eye, stabbed her in the neck until she stopped moving, and then cornered her. Afterward, del Medico called the police and claimed he had killed his ex-girlfriend and her new partner. Both survived, and the ex-boyfriend was sentenced to 40 years in prison in January 2023.

Later, Otto was paralyzed from the chest down and was dependent on a wheelchair, similar to a German Paralympics star. In addition to her trauma therapy, she started archery. Her friend Riessle was always at her side, as he was in Paris. And soon there will be three of them… (kk)