Greg Stewart is going out a champion.

The Kamloops shot putter has announced his retirement, less than a year after he won gold for Canada at the 2021 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

“It’s been an incredible journey in sport over the last 20 years,” he told NL Sports. “Everything from playing on the national sitting volleyball team, being a South Kam grad, playing basketball at TRU, and now finishing things off in the shot put world.”

“I’ve been a part of many teams and organization, and for me to say, I’m retiring’ feel more complete.”

The 35-year-old – who was also named Athletics Canada’s Field Event Athlete of the Year 2021 – says his retirement is a “bitter-sweet” departure, though he is happy to go out on top.

“I wasn’t going to share this with too many people, but now I’m putting it out on the air, being on top is a pretty lonely place and after kind of experiencing the difficulties with being the best, in a way, I don’t want to repeat that,” Stewart said.

“It sounds silly but when my dad used to yell when I was shooting a foul shot while serving…just my dad saying ‘follow the ball’ and stuff like that, it is something that I’ll remember forever. That, and just standing on that podium in Tokyo seeing that flag go up.”

Stewart plans to focus on his partner and his family, as well as building relationships through his speaking engagements.

“[I’m] proud that I was able to represent Canada and my community and everyone,” he said. “I think will probably go down as one of the best highlights I’ve ever had.”