One of Britain’s most successful paralympians has celebrated his retirement with a host of well known North East stars.
Stephen Miller, from Cramlington, stepped away from competitive club throw after the Cerebral Palsy Sport National Championships in Birmingham last week.
And the 44-year-old, who won three golds, one silver and a bronze in club throw in six Paralympic games, signed off with a night of celebration with family, friends, fellow athletes and long-time supporters at St James’ Park.
All Stephen’s 36 medals from all competitions, plus years of fascinating memorabilia, photos and awards, were on display in the Platinum Suite in the stadium, and Stephen also raised more than £1500 for the Smile Through Sport foundation he set up to encourage disabled athletes.
The night, hosted by ITV news anchor Ian Payne, featured tributes from former Newcastle captain Alan Shearer, his ex-team-mate John Beresford, Geordie TV stars Ant and Dec, local businessman and entrepreneur Graham Wylie and former North East Chamber head James Ramsbotham. Newcastle United’s director of people and talent, Dominica O’Neil also made a special presentation to the lifetime Toon fan.
Stephen, who has started to compete in boccia again, said he was ready to retire after missing out on the Tokyo Paralympics, and accepting he would not be competing at the recent games in Paris.
However, as one of Team GB’s most successful athletes, who captained the team at the London Olympics in 2012, he is understandably proud of his achievements.
Stephen said: "I'm just very grateful for all the opportunities that I've had, all the amazing experiences, and it's really great that I had a night like that to celebrate it.
"It was like This Is Your Life; very emotional and a bit surreal. To go back through my career was really great and I couldn't ask for a better end to my sports career.
“It meant so much to have so many there to close the chapter on my 30-year Para Athletics career and I’m just so thankful that so many people could share the night with me.
“It felt like a wedding and I tried to get around to see everybody in the room but I was fighting an uphill battle with over 150 guests, whose presence help make the night truly unforgettable.
"I'm retiring from sport, but not from life. So there's another challenge around the corner and I'll be approaching it in exactly the same way.
"I am very proud of how the Paralympics has developed and grown over the years, how the sport has become much more competitive. The performance levels keep getting higher and higher every four years and that's down to the dedication of the athletes.
"Hopefully I can support the charity to keep going and keep giving disabled people the opportunity to access sport in the North East."
Stephen’s achievements over three decades have inspired hundreds of athletes from the world, including Gateshead Harriers’ Anna Nicholson who won bronze in the shot put in Paris earlier this month.
Anna, who is originally from Brampton in Cumbria, said; “Stephen has been a huge inspiration for me.
"It shows what athletes with cerebral palsy can do and that he's not just a disabled person, he is an athlete as well and when you look at him, he's fantastic."
Stephen is starting a new job in IT shortly as he ‘goes back to the real world’ but he has vowed to continue helping to develop sport for disabled people in the North East through Smile Through Sport.
