Canada’s Greg Stewart successfully defended his Paralympic title in the men’s shot put F46 final on Wednesday at the Paris Games.
The seven-foot-two thrower from Kamloops, B.C., won the gold medal with a season-best toss of 16.38 metres on his fifth of six attempts at Stade de France.
Stewart beat India’s Sachin Sarjerao Khilari for gold by 0.06 metres, but he had already bested the two-time reigning world champion with his third throw of 16.34m.
“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.”
Croatia’s Luka Bakovic claimed bronze (16.27m).
WATCH l Stewart captures Paralympic gold in Paris:
The seven-foot-two thrower from Kamloops, B.C., came out of retirement to defend his Paralympic title in Paris, and won gold with a season-best toss of 16.38 metres on his fifth attempt.
The 38-year-old Stewart returned to major competition in May after retiring in 2022. He won gold three years ago in Tokyo with a Paralympic record-setting throw of 16.75m.
Stewart, who was born without his lower left arm, won silver while making his comeback at this year’s World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan.
Stewart says there is still more to come.
“I am going to go on to L.A. [the 2028 Games],” he said. “This one is just half way.
“I wanted to come back and continue supporting the Paralympic movement, and support athletes any way we can.”
He used to be coached by Canadian shot put great Dylan Armstrong, who won Olympic bronze in 2008 and helped Ethan Katzberg win Canada’s first-ever hammer throw gold medal at the Olympics last month.
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