Murray Scott Stewart (born 2 July 1986 in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

) is an Australian kayaker. Stewart qualified for the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the List of Olympic Games h ...

and teamed up with Riley Fitzsimmons, Lachlan Tame and Jordan Wood in the Men's K-4 500m sprint. The team did well in the heats clocking 1:22.662, came second in the semi-final, but couldn't repeat their best time coming in 6th in the final behind the eventual winner, Germany,

Early years

Stewart grew up in South Africa and excelled in athletics: swimming and water polo. When he was 14 years of age, Stewart immigrated to Australia with his family. Stewart learned to surf ski once he settled in Australia. His father had been a champion sprint, slalom, and surf paddler, so the transition was a natural one. He was a talented junior and won national medals while studying for his high school exams. Stewart started flat water kayaking in 2005, and in 2006, was selected for the Australian under 23 team. He won the K1 1000 metres at an event in

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. He had ambitions of competing in the

Beijing 2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

, but a ruptured appendix, followed by a spinal fracture in late 2007, disrupted his preparations.

Achievements

Stewart won the single ski events at the 2008 Lifesaving World Championships and 2009 Australian Surf Life Saving Championships. Stewart then had a number of top performances at the Olympic selection events. He came in 1st place in the K1, K2 and K4 1000m events at the Oceania Championships, before backing up at the Australian Championships to win the same 3 events. He was also a member of Australia's gold medal-winning Kayak Four (K4) 1000m team at the

London Olympics 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Stewart is a graduate of

The University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

and participated in their Elite Athlete Program.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Murray 1986 births Australian male canoeists Living people Canoeists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic canoeists for Australia Olympic gold medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in canoeing ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics South African people of British descent Sportspeople from Durban Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia