Stuart Tripp
Current role: Husband & Father
What sport did you hold a scholarship for at VIS: Para Cycling
Time as VIS athlete: 2010 - 2022
Tell us about your life after your time at the VIS?
I left not too long ago, therefore I'm going to highlight what the VIS brought to my life, which is that the VIS were/are my family. Like my parents taught me about life and living as a capable human, and I teach my children about life and living as capable humans, the VIS gave me learnings about life and living as a capable human/athlete. After returning from competition overseas, my first stop was home with my family, the second stop was home with my second family, the VIS. Unlike typical athletes, I never as a young person or even an older person, ever thought of being an athlete, in fact it wasn't until the later part of my career would I call myself an athlete. Unlike typical athletes I didn't start young, I was 40 years old in 2010 when I obtained my first scholarship at the VIS. I had no knowledge of being an athlete prior to this, I knew nothing. It was only due to what could only be described as a horrific car accident when I was 24 years old, that led me down this path. The VIS taught me everything about being an athlete. I didn't have to juggle study, or work. My juggle was my family and my sport. My wife was working full time, studying full time. First a Masters and then a PhD, we had our first boy Malachy in 2013 and then Murphy in 2014. Our boys grew up with the support of the VIS, especially in their years before childcare. The VIS was always accommodating, be it a staff member taking one of the boys to the park for an hour or someone keeping an eye on them while I did a gym session. They loved it! So many good memories.
What’s the one career achievement you’re most proud of?
I was very fortunate to have a great man as my first head coach, from 2010-2018. The coach was Peter Day, we first met at the National Championships in 2010. Peter knew nothing about paracycling or not much and I knew nothing, really nothing about cycling. Pete gave me a chance and in 2010, I made my first Australian Paracycling Team for the World Championships in Canada. This started a wonderful relationship over the next eight years, which included the birth of both my children, 7 World Championship events, countless World Cup events, two Paralympic events, one in Rio 2016 where I gained a Silver medal in the Road ITT. However my greatest sports achievements were in 2018, I won my first race, a World Cup Road Race in Belgium, and that year I won after winning several more World Cup events, The World Cup Championship. It was a fitting end to the athlete head coach relationship between Peter and I that had started eight years earlier.
What’s the most valuable lesson you learnt during your career at the VIS?
The humanist of humility.
