Peter Otto Stecher (born 1965 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

) is an expert in

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

. He is a published author on the subject, and he has toured the globe to perform in various archery events as "Bowman", including a slapstick routine with a character he calls "Barry Bowdini". Stecher lives in

Lockenhaus Lockenhaus ( hu, Léka; hr, Livka) is a town in the district of Oberpullendorf in the Austrian state of Burgenland. The town is well known for the annual Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival founded by violinist Gidon Kremer. History The town wa ...

, where in 1991 he founded the first archery club in the

Burgenland Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiščanska'') is the easternmost and least populous state of Austria. It consists of two statutory cities and seven rural districts, with a total of ...

state. Stecher is known as a classic bow purist, shooting every bow type, but prefers the simple straight American semi-longbow similar to the ones favored by

Howard Hill Howard Hill (born Lemuel Howard Hill and later cited Howard H. Hill;"Lemuel" is verified as Hill's first name in th"Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910" image of original census page for John F. Hill family, "Wilsonville Town", Shelby C ...

. Stecher's book, ''Legends in Archery - Adventurers with Bow and Arrow'' (

Schiffer Publishing Schiffer Publishing Ltd. (also known for its imprints Schiffer, Schiffer Craft, Schiffer Military History, Schiffer Kids, REDFeather MBS, Cornell Maritime Press, Tidewater Publishers, Thrums Books, Geared Up Publications ) is a family-owned publi ...

, 2010, ), began as a 2008 series of portraits of famous archers, for a German-language trade magazine. The book was then published in the German language in 2008, then more widely released in 2010, in English. One of the subjects of Stecher's book is American star archer, Byron Ferguson, who contacted Stecher, and the two bowmen became friends. Stecher has translated Ferguson's own book, ''Become the Arrow'', into German. Stecher then completed a 20-minute DVD featuring trick shots and slow-motion imaging with a high-speed camera. More recently, Stecher was invited to

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

as one of the seven best "

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

" archers from around the world, to appear on a Chinese televised program featuring an archery competition, the first ever on popular Chinese broadcasting. The show, which aired on

Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation (JSBC) () is China's third biggest television network after China Central Television (CCTV) and Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS). The television network is owned by the Jiangsu provincial government. The network is ...

on 22 February 2015, was seen by 250 million Chinese viewers. One contestant was Chinese Olympic

gold medalist A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

Zhang Juanjuan Zhang Juanjuan (; born January 2, 1981 in Qingdao, Shandong, People's Republic of China) is an archer from the People's Republic of China. Early and personal life Zhang was born on 2 January 1982 in the Chinese city of Qingdao in Shandong P ...

. The challenge was to shoot arrows at falling rings. In the end, Stecher shot to a draw with Zhang Juanjuan, each hitting seven falling rings out of fifteen opportunities.

References

External links

Peter O. Stecher website
Austrian male archers Living people 1965 births {{Austria-archery-bio-stub