Graeme Stewart: A life transformed by sport

No-one chooses to live in a wheelchair.

But for the 70 curlers competing at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, that’s the choice that life has made for them — perhaps because of an ongoing physical or medical problem, or because of an incident in their earlier lives.

But few could have had their wheelchair fate bestowed on them in a more harrowing manner than Great Britain’s Graeme Stewart.

At 16 years old, Graeme was already an outstanding junior national level athlete in his chosen sport of rowing, involved in his local club Loch Lomond in Scotland.

One day, on a visit to local beauty spot Balloch Country Park, he decided to jump on a makeshift swing there. The swing broke, Graeme fell and his spine was broken.

Graeme knew straight away that he had suffered a life-changing injury.

“The first day I was in hospital I was told that I wouldn’t walk again. It was a profoundly life-changing major trauma.”

Graeme continued, “You cope in different ways, you don’t want to let your family down, you’ve put them through a lot of pain and suffering and don’t want to put them through anything more.”

Graeme Stewart at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games © World Curling / Ansis Ventins

Rebuilding life with a return to rowing

To re-build his life, Graeme returned to his rowing club.

“I would say that rowing was the thing that got me through it. I had friends at Loch Lomond. I got out of hospital and a few months later I went down the rowing club and got asked to cox.”

And that was the start of an outstanding international sports career for Graeme. Some months later he got the role of steering and guiding what became Scottish Rowing’s most successful international eight ever. With national titles and home international gold under their belts, they were quarter-finalists at the world-renowned Henley Royal Regatta — going down to a Canadian squad crew. They were also finalists at rowing’s top international event outside the World Championships, the Rotsee Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Graeme still thanks rowing for the crucial role it played in his rehabilitation.

“The discipline you need for rowing, the mental strength you need… all those things are good for life in general as well as sport,” he said.

A new sporting world

When that crew broke up, Graeme eventually found another sporting chapter.

“I started playing wheelchair rugby league in 2012. I went to a 4 Nations tournament, then went to a World Cup in 2013, where I was lucky enough to be chosen to be Scotland captain.

“I went back to the World Cup in 2017, was captain again, then went to another World Cup in 2022. In that event, I came on for 14 minutes and got concussed — and didn’t play another game in that World Cup.”

Graeme works as a specialist career advisor in the Spinal Injuries Unit at Scotland’s biggest hospital in Glasgow, and that was where he first encountered wheelchair curling.

“I went to a Scottish Curling come and try day at the Unit, and that was that” he said.

Graeme Stewart at the Great Britain team announcement day © British Curling / PPA

A new challenge awaits on the ice

Soon enough, Graeme found himself on British Curing’s Paralympic pathway.

“I went to a talent ID day and that was it,” he recalled.

“When I started on the pathway, I was still playing wheelchair curling, but I dislocated my shoulder, and British Curling suggested they didn’t want me to do rugby league anymore because of the injury risk.”

Now established in the team, Graeme has the chance to compare curling to rowing.

“It’s very similar” he said.

“It’s not as physical but mentally it’s very difficult. It’s two hours that you’ve got to be switched on, there is no time you’re not thinking when you’re on the ice.”

“It’s mentally taxing and very tiring. We do go through quite a hefty strength and conditioning programme. I found that quite surprising. You need to be fit to be a curler.”

Now, at 59 years of age, yet another sporting chapter has opened up for Graeme, and honours in a third sport are possible. Hardly the prospect he expected when he first sustained his life-changing injury.