Tristan contends that both activities are artistic expressions and just different interpretations of the same creative principles.

“That’s how I see it, at least,” the 26-year-old confirmed. 

“The feeling of just gliding, almost flying across the water is pretty special. [Canoe slalom] has such smooth, elegant movements. It’s a constant flow. To me it’s the same thing, really, we’re just doing it on the water.”

Tristan's passion for paddling began at the age of eight, when he eagerly joined his sister on the water, unable to resist the urge to participate.

“I couldn’t really just sit on the bank while my sister was out there training. I felt left out, so I had to have a bit of fun as well,” he confessed, reflecting on his journey to becoming an Olympic athlete as he prepares for his debut at the Games.

“I think [at the beginning] I spent a lot of time not really understanding the potential. I just wanted to get out on the water and have fun and enjoy it.”

Everything changed for Tristan at the age of 14, during a local race on the Goulburn River, at Eildon.

“To me it was just another local race. Little did I know, it was a selection event for a junior team,” he said.

Following his victory in that race, Tristan was approached by Mike Druce, current Australian Canoe Slalom team selector and former head coach of Paddle Australia Canoe Slalom Pathways. Druce initiated discussions about Tristan potentially securing a spot on the team.

“I think that was the moment,” Tristan reflected. “Realising that I could make a team and maybe there was something there. Thinking that if I started focusing a bit more, training a bit harder, maybe I could turn this into something.”

It wasn't until the following year Tristan finally made the junior team for C1, the individual canoe slalom discipline in which he will compete at Paris 2024. His selection for the Junior and U23 World Championships in Penrith provided an incredible opportunity to race in front of friends and family, solidifying his determination to pursue his athletic journey.

In 2017, the Melbourne native became a regular on the senior national team, competing at all five World Cup events that year and making his debut at the senior World Championships. However, his journey wasn't without challenges. The following year, Tristan faced a significant setback when he failed to make any national teams due to personal challenges that could have hindered his progress and development as an athlete.

“I’ve certainly had a few of those [challenges],” he acknowledged. “But I won’t go too much into the details. We are the people we are today because we go through those sorts of things, so I have no regrets.”

“I realised there was a problem and it was getting in the way of my passion. How I bounced back, going from making my first senior team at 18 years old, to weighing almost 100 kilos, missing every team, coming last in every race, and then coming back the very next year and making senior team again - that made me stronger. It made me understand myself more, and I think it made me a better person,” he said.

After overcoming this difficult period, Tristan renewed his focus on achieving his ultimate goal: Olympic selection. His dedication paid off, and now, just weeks away from realising his dream in Paris, he reflects on narrowly missing out on the Tokyo team in 2021.

“Ultimately I fell short on that occasion,” Tristan explained. “It just wasn’t my year. I was still living in Melbourne at the time, and [missing out on selection] was what prompted me to move to Sydney. Falling short by so little made me think about the small things I needed to do to take the next step.”

As the realisation of becoming an Olympian draws near, Tristan emphasises, "It means everything to me."

“I am incredibly patriotic and I love Australia. To be an athlete competing at the highest level for my country is an absolute honour. I put on that green and gold shirt with such pride every time, and now to have these rings on the shirt, it’s just another level.”

Despite his emotional nature — "I'm someone who wears his heart on his sleeve," he admitted — Tristan displays strong mental resilience, shaped by his ability to make the most of any situation he finds himself in. It’s an attitude that he may as well have developed on the field of play, where his sport requires a similar, high degree of adaptability.

“You can’t fight water,” he remarked when describing the discipline of canoe slalom. “Water wins 100% of the time, so it’s about trying to understand what the water wants to do, working and flowing with the water, never against it.”

With this perspective, it's understandable that Tristan views the sacrifices he made to become an elite athlete in a different light.

“Yes, I had to move States, move away from home, family and friends, and that has been challenging,” he conceded. “I prefer not to look at those things as sacrifices though. I dedicated my whole life to the achievement of wearing this [Australian Olympic team] shirt, so everything I have done has been in the pursuit of that.”

“It’s just been a part of the journey.”

That journey reached its pinnacle at the Australian Open last February, where Tristan clinched a quota spot for Paris 2024, despite enduring an emotional rollercoaster in the lead-up to the decisive race.

“The week before [the Australian Open] I was feeling good and racing well, then I capsized on gate 3 - probably not really what we wanted at that stage,” he jokes now that his Olympic debut is secured.

The disappointing outcome of that regatta compelled Tristan to return to fundamentals, emphasising routine and consistency. His performance the following week was much stronger, allowing him to win in the C1 category and book his ticket to Paris.

“There were definitely very different emotions at the end of that race,” he admitted, reflecting on an experience that condensed years of hard work into just about 100 seconds on the water.

“It was the moving to Sydney, missing out on Tokyo. Everything I’ve done in the past ten years came up in those few seconds when I crossed the finish line. It felt like it was all worth it at that point, and it was a pretty amazing feeling.”

As he eagerly anticipates the final weeks of training leading up to the Games, Tristan has begun visualising himself at the start gate of his inaugural Olympic race, reflecting on the people who have supported him throughout his journey.

“On a personal level, I just want to enjoy the moment, because it’s going to be like nothing else that I am going to experience. I just want to be able to tell myself - calm down, look out at the grandstand full of people, the cameras, the magnitude of the event. Just take it all in and embrace it. Let it fill you.”

“But I can also picture everyone who has been there with me the whole time, who was there with me while I was qualifying, and who will be with me when I am there,” he continued. 

“Everyone of them has been a part of it in a different way. My family, obviously, then the people at Melbourne Canoe Club, the coaches and the training groups that I had there. And then all my support network up here [in Sydney], my partner, my housemates.”

“I can picture all that and that’s what I see when I think about the Olympics. Everyone has injected themselves nicely into this journey, and it is as much theirs as it is mine.”