Wayne
Phipps

South Africa-born Wayne Phipps has been an active member of the judo community since the age of eight. In his teenage years he won national titles and by his 20’s was competing for South Africa. He relocated to Australia in 2010 and after being diagnosed with a visual impairment, his coach in Perth suggested he consider competing in Para-Judo. After gaining classification he competed for the first time at the World Championships in Portugual in 2018.

Despite losing his one bout at Tokyo 2020, the Paralympic debutant became Australia’s third-ever Paralympian to compete in judo and the first Australian representative since Beijing 2008.