Kyle Shewfelt has made Calgary proud since bursting onto the gymnastics scene 10 years ago.
Following a gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, wins at the national and international levels and two broken legs suffered during training before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games – from which he recovered substantially enough to compete with the Canadian gymnastics team – Shewfelt says it’s time to move on.
“I just wasn’t feeling that same fire, that same passion,” he said Thursday as he announced his retirement from gymnastics.
Shewfelt’s coach of four years, Tony Smith, says Shewfelt’s Olympic performances – especially the gold medal win in 2004 – will help the sport of gymnastics for years to come.
“The funding that Kyle has been able to produce for Gymnastics Canada for our national team over the next two, three cycles has all got to do with that one gold medal,” Smith says.
Shewfelt’s future career plans include broadcasting, writing and opening a local gymnastics centre.