Canada’s Stewart wins shot put gold at world para athletics championships

NEW DELHI — Greg Stewart won Canada’s first gold medal at the 2025 world para athletics championships Friday with a 16.68-metre throw in the men’s F46 shot put.

Stewart won his first world title in the event after claiming gold at the last two Paralympic Games.

The 39-year-old from Victoria, who was born without the lower part of his left arm, had won silver at the last two world championships.

Stewart had to wait a day before competing for gold after several events scheduled for Thursday were delayed by rain.

“To come and compete at this level after the postponement was a big one for me, to show that you’re as good as you want to be, if you want to be it,” Stewart said. “I’ve finished second at two world championships now. This is my first one in gold. I’ve been wanting this one for a long time.”

World record holder Joshua Cinnamo of the United States won silver with a throw of 16.08 metres, and Luka Bakovic of Croatia picked up bronze at 15.83 metres.

In women’s competition, Julia Hanes of La Salle, Ont., earned bronze with a throw of 7.51 metres in the F33 shot put final.

“One of the things that I take pride in is being able to be calm in a storm and settle and do what I need to be doing. After having to adjust my chair because of some protests, I was actually able to just settle and immediately after that come in and just throw big,” said Hanes, who has hemiplegia, a disease that causes paralysis on one side of the body.

Russia’s Svetlana Krivenok won gold at 8.14 metres and China’s Wu Qing took silver at 7.56 metres.

Canada won three shot put medals in New Delhi after Katie Pegg of Markham, Ont., won bronze in the women’s F46 event on Thursday.

Canada has one gold and four bronze medals heading into the second-last day of competition Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2025.