Queensburgh man (72) reminisces on adventure-filled Tripps
The active 79-year-old is excited to continue his adventures when he heads to the UK.
EVEN though he refers to himself as ‘lazy by nature’, Flame Lily’s Gordon Tripp is anything but as he has completed numerous Comrades Marathons, the Midmar Mile, the Dusi Canoe Marathon and many other fast-paced and adrenalin-fuelled sporting events.
Seated on a plush couch in his modest home, the 72-year-old Tripp recalled being an active teen who competed in rugby, water polo and swimming.
Life became busy and an active life seemed to fall to the wayside.
While many wouldn’t find the silver lining in a hang glider accident that was accompanied by a broken ankle and leg, it became a positive turning point in Tripp’s life.
He weighed in at about 100kgs and smoked a box of cigarettes a day, a time of his life he referred to a ‘joke’.
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“The surgeon I met in the theatre was a Comrades runner and I asked if he thought I would be able to walk on my right leg again. I then changed tact and asked if I would be able to run on it,” said Tripp.
“He believed that I could so, during rehab after the operation, which was probably about a year later, I decided to take up running,” he said.
Determined to change his life around, he competed in his first official 10km and was beyond proud of his achievement. “Back then I never thought I could compete in something of that distance,” he chuckled.
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His next goal was to compete in the gruelling Comrades Marathon. Once this was ticked off of his to-do list, he signed up to compete in the Iron Man event, which is where his love for paddling bloomed.
“Starting canoeing from nothing was a great undertaking as I am not a natural sportsman. I sort of bumble along. When you have never paddled before, and you need to canoe down a river, that is the kind of technique you have to learn. I have been very fortunate to have people in my life who have helped me along the way,” said Tripp.
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From there he opted to compete in triathlons, the first of which was the Carling Triathlon, held on the beach front.
This kicked off his cycling bug and one thing led to another and he began competing in events across South Africa and abroad.
“It all became a natural progression. When one event is completed, someone pops up with another idea and I wanted to try it. If it was just left to one person, I probably would have just stayed in bed. It was my friends who egged me on, its the camaraderie and the nonsense that happens during the event that keeps you going back for more,” he said.
Tripp has since finished 16 Comrades Marathons, 30 Dusi Canoe Marathons, 21 Fish River Canoe Marathons and 22 Midmar Mile swims, among others.
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With a host of medals, certificates and awards adorning a table in his modest home, Tripp admitted his spare time is now filled with packing up and clearing out more than 30 years of his life as he prepares to immigrate to the United Kingdom.
“I honestly can’t sit around and do nothing, so I’m probably going to end up looking for some sort of work when I’m over there. I like to be busy and there are still so many things to still do. I am lazy by nature, so I have to keep going. Thankfully there is a lot of water to explore and I look forward to competing in sport events once I am settled,” he said.
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