‘Just blast one, and he did’: Stewart doesn’t save best until last in Paralympic gold

His coach Dylan Armstrong added, “We had a game plan going in. I told him just try and throw as far as you can on that first one. Just blast one, and he did. I was totally shocked, actually pretty surprised that it was that far for the first one. Usually, it takes a few to get Greg going, but overall what a great performance.”

Stewart’s gold-medal win has been felt not only by his fellow Kamloopians, but also friends and family around the world. Greg’s parents Leanne and Mike have received texts from people that haven’t heard from for a long time.

The proud parents celebrated their son’s victory with a few tears, especially as Greg teared up during the national anthem.

“I was standing there and he came out, and as soon as he started to cry, of course, I started to cry,” said his mom Leanne. “I know what this meant to him. He’s just that person. It’s not just about getting that gold medal for him. You could see it in those eyes behind the mask of what he was feeling because we know him so well. He’s such an amazing human being.”

His dad Mike says he saw a different Greg Stewart during the finals on Tuesday night.

“There was a calmness there that I don’t think I’ve seen,” he said. “We’ve watched him in lots of local meets and other meets. We were in Dubai. It was different this time. There was a bit of anger that launched his big throw in Dubai. That wasn’t there this time. There was no anger there. It was just, ‘I’ve trained, I have all these people that have trained me and helped me do this. I can just do this.'”

One of those people has been Armstrong, an Olympic bronze medal winner himself, who has worked with Stewart for the last four years, helping him through the ups and downs, including the pandemic, to reach the top of the podium.

“I think it’s pretty cool we have a guy like Dr. [Anatoliy] Bondarchuk come over in 2005 and get me on the podium in 2008, then I pass it along to a guy like Greg,” said Armstrong. “Here we are two Olympic medals in one city.”

Stewart’s story is an inspiration and the latest Canadian Paralymic champion has a positive message for all young aspiring athletes or anyone wanting to pursue their dreams.

“I just continue to share the message of ‘do what you want, love what you do, and have fun,'” he said.

Stewart will be flying into Vancouver on Friday before a celebration in Kamloops next Wednesday on the throws field next to Hillside Stadium.

by Chad Klassen

‘Just blast one, and he did’: Stewart doesn’t save best until last in Paralympic gold

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