Paralympic champion Greg Stewart battles injury heading into Bell Track and Field Trials

MONTREAL – Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Greg Stewart is confident a nasty toe injury won’t hamper his performance later this week at the 2024 Bell Track and Field Trials.

The competition is expected to finalize selections for Canada’s Paris 2024 teams, to be announced later in July.

Just over two weeks ago, the seven-foot-two shot putter, born missing part of his left arm, was working at home on his car when the mishap happened. The cut required 13 stitches.

“It’s doing well, it totally sucks, but you know, I’m getting through it,” said Stewart, 38, from Kamloops, B.C. ‘’The pain has subsided substantially, and you know right now, it’s kind of the cliché, but one toe in front of the other.”

Stewart earned a quota spot for Canada in the F46 shotput last month at the Para athletics world championships in Kobe, Japan. He not only won the silver medal but also realized he’ll be in an intense battle to successfully defend his Games crown.

In Kobe, Stewart posted a season best 16.14 metres edged by Sachin Sarjerao Khilari of India who threw an Asian record 16.30 metres on his sixth and final throw to successfully defend his world crown. Luka Bakovic of Croatia, the leader entering the final round, was third at 16.04.

Perennial American champion Josh Cinnamon was fifth.

‘’We’re really taking this sport seriously,” said Stewart, who is engaged to be married to Taylor Shantz, who he first met 20 years ago. “I have to give a lot of credit to Josh who was the first to throw over 16 metres. He’s the one that really got this started and now we’ve got six guys throwing over 16. Plus Athletics Canada has done an excellent job of building a high performance Para program and that’s a reason it’s growing so much here as well.’’

Off the field, Stewart is extremely busy with various projects on the go. He is boasting proudly about a new youth book that’s just been released called “Stand Out”, that he co-authored with writer Sean Campbell.

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Stand Out (now available for purchase HERE) is about Stewart’s journey to truly believing in himself. His story serves as an inspiration for young readers, showing that with dedication and perseverance, anyone can overcome life’s obstacles to reach for gold.

Because of his height and missing arm, Stewart knows all about being different and receiving constant glances whenever he ventures in public. It was particularly hard for him in his teenage years. By 14, he was already six-foot-eight.

‘’My main message to youth is they’re not in this alone,’’ he said. ‘’There are so many great things happening. The book is just all about vulnerability and encouraging people to be who they are and not try to be someone else.’’

Stewart is also a powerful spokesperson for the Para sport community in Canada. He is a member of both the Athletics Canada and AthletesCAN Board of Directors. He is also a highly requested motivational speaker.

‘’It’s just important athletes have a voice,’’ he said. “I do a lot of talks within schools and organizations and spread the word how great being a human can be. It’s important that we share people’s stories.

‘’Our world right now is a challenging place to be in, but if we can create motivation, if we can hear people’s voices, I think we can create a really, really great thing.’’

Stewart competes on Friday morning at 9 a.m. ET in the men’s F46 shotput. The trials continue until Sunday at the Claude Robillard Sports Complex.

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will begin with the Opening Ceremony on August 28 and continue through September 8, with coverage of the Games on CBC and CBC Sports and Radio-Canada.