Greg Stewart celebrates after winning gold in the Men’s Shot Put F46 Final at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Photo via Canadian Paralympic Committee/Angela Burger)
Kamloops native Greg Stewart has won gold in the men’s F46 shot put at the Paris Paralympics, less than a year after coming out of retirement.
The 38-year-old Stewart, who was born without his lower left arm, defended his title with a season-best throw of 16.38 metres on his fifth attempt at the Stade de France early Wednesday.
“Maybe in a day or two, I will be able to tell you how I feel,” Stewart said.
“I am not really sure yet. It was a pretty fun competition. Our sport is growing a lot. We have three guys throwing over 16 (metres) in this final.”
Canada’s Greg Stewart defends his Paralympic gold at #Paris2024 🇨🇦🥇
The Kamloops, B.C. native won the men’s shot put F46 title with a season-best toss of 16.38m on his fifth of six attempts #MedalMoments presented by @petrocanada pic.twitter.com/xElKhN721r
— CBC Sports (@cbcsports) September 4, 2024
Stewart beat India’s Sachin Sarjerao Khilari won silver with a throw of 16.32 metres, while Croatia’s Luka Bakovic claimed bronze with a 16.27 metre throw.
The seven-foot-two Stewart retired in 2022, less than a year after he won gold in Tokyo with a Paralympic record throw of 16.75 metres. He returned to competition in May this year because he missed the sport, and doesn’t plan to slow down.
“I am going to go on to L.A. [the 2028 Games], this one is just halfway,” Stewart said. “I wanted to come back and continue supporting the Paralympic movement, and support athletes any way we can.”
Stewart used to be coached by Olympic bronze medalist Dylan Armstrong, who helped Ethan Katzberg win Canada’s first-ever hammer throw gold medal at the Olympics last month.
– With files from The Canadian Press
