Erika Eiffel

Erika "Aya" Eiffel (née Erika LaBrie), is an American female competitive archer and advocate for object sexuality. She famously "married" the Eiffel Tower[1][2][3][4] in a commitment ceremony in 2007.

Erika "Aya" Eiffel
Erika "Aya" Eiffel at Texas Shootout Archery
Born1972 (age 48–49)
NationalityAmerican, Italian
Other namesErika LaBrie, Erika La Tour Eiffel
OccupationArcher
Known forArchery, commitment ceremony to the Eiffel Tower, Objectum sexuality

Military career

After serving enlisted in the United States Air Force, Eiffel entered the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1993. In her first year she was sexually assaulted by another cadet, but thwarted the attack with a training sword. She was subsequently dismissed from the Academy with a personality disorder. "I really felt that the only way for me to sleep is if I was holding onto something, like my sword, because that was the one thing that protected me. And it just got worse," she said.[5]

Archery career

Eiffel started recurve archery in 1999 in Japan, and started shooting compound bow a year later.[6] In 2003, she won first place shooting compound bow in both the FITA and Olympic rounds at all three National Cup tournaments: Arizona Cup, Texas Shootout, and Gold Cup.[7][8][9] Following her sweep she went on to win gold and break the FITA team record with Team USA at the 42nd World Target Championships in New York City.[10]

Eiffel, known as "Aya" in the archery world, has represented the US at the FITA World Field Championships with Olympic recurve and also the FITA Target Championships and FITA World Cup with compound bow. She also competed in the IFAA Indoor Championships, where she won gold in 2007 and set the single-round world record in Mannheim, Germany, in Freestyle Limited Recurve.[11]

Aya was on the 2004 and 2006[12] US National Archery Team for compound bow and also the 2009 senior National Team for Olympic recurve.[13]

Eiffel and objectum sexualis

She is founder of OS Internationale, an organization for those who develop significant relationships with inanimate objects.[14] She claims that her object relationship with Lance, her competition bow, helped her to become a world-class archer.[15]

She first encountered the Eiffel Tower in 2004, and felt an immediate attraction.[1] She told ABC News that she and others "[...] feel an innate connection to objects. It comes perfectly normal to us to connect on various levels, emotional, spiritual and also physical for some." In April 2009, on the second anniversary of her marriage to the Eiffel Tower, she appeared on Good Morning America and explained how her object love empowered her. Her twenty-year relationship with the Berlin Wall inspired the musical theater production Erika's Wall.[16]

In 2011 a Finnish journalist moved to Berlin for a year to write a book about Eiffel's object relationships and everyday life. Rautaiset rakastajat – matkani Erika Eiffelin maailmaan ("Iron Lovers - My trip into Erika Eiffel's World") was published in Finland in October 2012.[17]

See also

References
  1. "Inanimate attachment: Love objects". The Globe and Mail. Aug 21, 2009. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
  2. Woman Proves Love for Eiffel Tower With Commitment Ceremony, ABC News, April 8, 2009
  3. Woman with objects fetish marries Eiffel Tower, Daily Telegraph, 4 Jun 2008
  4. Piotrowska, Agnieszka (25 May 2008). "'I married the Eiffel Tower'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 May 2008.
  5. John Ferrugia (24 Sep 2003). "Cadet Who Admitted To Assault Discharged Honorably". Archived from the original on 2003-09-25. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  6. Steve Ross (2004). "Archer Spotlight on Aya La Brie". Archived from the original on 2004-07-05. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  7. Mary Beth Vorwerk (17 April 2003). "Archery Team Selected at Arizona Cup for Croatia Grand Prix". Archived from the original on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  8. Mary Beth Vorwerk (29 April 2003). "Resident Athletes Come out Strong at Texas Shootout". Archived from the original on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  9. Mary Beth Vorwerk (17 June 2003). "Four Teams Selected Following World/Pan Am Trials". Archived from the original on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  10. Mary Beth Vorwerk (22 July 2003). "U.S. wins six medals at World Target Championships". Archived from the original on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  11. "World Indoor Records". International Field Archery Association. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24.
  12. "2006 United States Archery Team (USAT)" (PDF). Arizona Archery. Arizona Junior Olympic Archery Development. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  13. "2009 United States Archery Team and Junior USAT Announced". Archived from the original on 2010-12-01. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  14. http://objectum-sexuality.org Objectùm-Sexuality Internationale
  15. "Woman marries Eiffel Tower". Unexplained Mysteries. 8 June 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  16. "Erika's Wall". Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  17. "Rautaiset rakastajat" (in Finnish). Retrieved 4 January 2013.
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