Army veteran Jason Tabansky aims during his first knockout match against Brazil's Eugenio Santana Franco in the men's individual W1 para archery competition at the 2024 Paralympic Games on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, at the Invalides in Paris. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

PARIS — It wasn’t lost on Jason Tabansky how he ended up getting his shot at Paralympic competition.

The Army veteran picked up a quota by being the highest non-qualifier in the world rankings (No. 3) after Australian Christopher Davis withdrew with an injury two months before the start of the 2024 Games.

But Trabansky wasn’t just happy to be at the Invalides on Sunday — the 41-year-old wanted to go home with it all.

And that’s what he did in his Paralympic debut, navigating the field in the knockout rounds to come out with gold in the men’s individual W1 archery competition. Tabansky sealed the Paralympic title with a 134-131 victory over China’s Han Guifei in the gold-medal match.

“I always told myself if he sacrificed his spot, I’m going to make it count,” Tabansky said of Davis. “It’s going to be for something. It’s not going to be just I got a slot and I’m going to go and take a picture and say that I’ve been here.

“I was here to perform and thankful to God I was able to make it all the way to the end and have a gold medal around my neck.”

Army veteran Jason Tabansky fist-bumps his coach during a quarterfinal matchup with Czech Republic's David Drahoninsky in the men's individual W1 para archery event at the 2024 Paralympic Games on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, at the Invalides in Paris. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Davis wasn’t the only person on Tabansky’s mind as he received his medal on Sunday afternoon.

The former Army staff sergeant, who joined the service in August 2001 and spent his 15-year military career as a Chinook helicopter mechanic, crew member and flight instructor, thought of his grandfather and his other friends who have died as he looked to the heavens.

He especially thought of Army Staff Sgt. Kyle McKee, a friend from Painesville, Ohio, whom Tabansky called a brother. McKee died in a helicopter crash in Egypt on Nov. 12, 2020.

“(McKee) was one of my biggest cheerleaders, one of the most important people I’ve had in my life,” Tabansky said. “To be able to do this and know that he always wanted me to win this and be here, this is for all of them.”

Considering his path to gold, it’s easy to see why he believed he had help from above.

Coming in as the sixth seed after the preliminaries, Tabansky faced a who’s who in the W1 category of men’s para archery.

First up was Eugenio Santana Franco of Brazil, the world’s No. 2. Tabansky led from start to finish to win 137-122.

In the quarterfinals, he squared off with an archer who left his mark on the sport, David Drahoninsky. The Czech had won two gold and two silver medals in events spanning four different Games.

Yet, Tabansky got stronger as the match went along against his more accomplished foe — a theme for the Brownsville, Texas, native on the day. Tied after the first two ends, Tabanksy produced scores of 30, 29 and 28 to pull away 139-131.

Then came a semifinal matchup with Italy’s Paolo Tonon, whom he dispatched 136-115.

“I had somebody call me and say, ‘Hey, your bracket is actually the easiest path to gold, but you have the hardest opponents,’” Tabansky said. “I knew in my head that all I had to do was shoot my four matches the way I shoot at home.”

The last match was perhaps the toughest in Han, the top-ranked para archer in the world.

Both went back and forth throughout, until with two shots remaining, Tabansky enjoyed a two-point advantage. Then, he shot a 7, giving Han a chance. The Chinese archer pulled within one by putting an 8 on the board.

Tabansky went first on the final attempt, and he put to bed any chance of Han coming back with a 10.

“I don’t remember the (last) shot. All I can think of is, ‘Put the pin in the gold and punch this thing.’ And I did. I punched it harder than (American archer and former world champion) Jimmy Lutz.”

Tabansky, who suffered a spinal cord injury in September 2015 after falling during a Chinook helicopter demonstration in London, doesn’t have much time to celebrate. He and Tracy Otto begin their quest for a medal in the mixed team competition as the sixth seed on Monday. The Americans open in the quarterfinals against Italians Daila Dameno and Tonon.

The match begins at 9:20 a.m. Central European Time, with the semifinals and medal matches following that morning.

“I’m going to take some time to let this soak in, and after that, we’re going to go give it everything we’ve got,” Tabansky said.