After spending years away from sport, Maitlin Knoke was brought right back to the passion he once felt in his youth after spending a day trialing Para athletics.

“Like so many, I started exploring sport in school. I always loved athletics, but after graduation I moved on. Then in 2020 I was in a car accident that left me paralyzed. After I got out of the hospital, I attended a ‘Have-A-Go Day’ and basically fell back in love with it.”

In the six years since returning to athletics, Knoke has kept an open mind to everything that has come his way, which has led him to find success across the nation.

He is a three-time Canadian champion across both of his events – men’s seated discus and seated shot put – with his most recent gold medal performance coming just before he attends his first Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

Knoke will go into the Games fresh off finishing first at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in the men’s F55 seated discus and shot put events, recording distances of 27.99 metres and 10.68-m, respectively.

“It feels unreal to be able to perform at the level and do that well…to be able to win two gold medals and have big personal bests was one of the best feelings,” shared Knoke.

Albeit coming off an impressive performance, Knoke still notes feelings of nervousness ahead of his first major Games. He states that he plans to focus on keeping his head down once in Scotland and work to achieve the best possible result.

Now only days stand between Knoke and him achieving something that he has dreamed of since childhood: representing his nation on the international stage.

“It feels surreal. It truly is a huge honour and hope that I can perform my best and bring back the best results I can.”

Knoke will compete in the men’s shot put F57 category Aug. 1.