Standing Out Sitting
Stewart hits against China during the third day of competition at the World Sitting Volleyball Championships in Edmond, Okla., on Tuesday, July 13. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Greg Stewart is impossible to miss.
There’s the shaggy mohawk. There’s the prosthetic arm. But really, those things aren’t what you notice first about the Canadian competing this week at the sitting volleyball world championships.
He stands out when he stands up.
Stewart is 7-foot-2.
Even in a sport where everyone has to keep their keister on the floor, that height makes him a big deal. His head nearly reaches the top of the net, which is a little over three and a half feet tall. His arms extend a couple feet over the net.
There are other big guys playing in the tournament at the University of Central Oklahoma, but none are any more physically intimidating than Stewart.
“You’ve got to feed off it,” he said.
He pounds spikes. He blocks shots. More than anything, he changes what opponents do just because he’s so big.
Stewart, who was born with only half of his left arm, has always been tall. When he started playing adaptive sports as a 15-year-old, he was already 6-foot-8.
“I was skinny, though,” he said in his deep baritone voice. “Whew.”
He shook his head.
“I was like 6-8, 170 pounds.”
No longer a beanpole, Stewart now weighs 290 pounds and has a thick upper body. He smashed a spike off an opponent earlier in the week — unintentionally, mind you — and the ricochet almost hit the rafters.
