Aussie Olympian Ryan Fisher Retires Following Last Race in Saudi Arabia
Ryan Fisher’s smile said it all when he stormed across the line in the Saudi Arabian desert city of Neom knowing that it would be his final finish along triathlon’s famous blue carpet.
At 31, Fisher announced that the Super League Grand Final would be his final race last weekend – retiring after a celebrated career in the sport that first saw him emerge at the 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival.
And seven years later graduate to sport’s biggest stage at the 2016 Rio Olympics – an Olympian forever.
A determined die-hard racer who has travelled the world chasing his dreams – from San Francisco to London and Hamburg, in and out of Jiayuguan, Incheon, Yokohama, Tokyo, Ishigaki and Tongyeong; to Holten, Palamos, Stockholm and Edmonton from Chicago and Abu Dhabi, Leeds and Lausanne to Bergen and Bermuda, Ryan Fisher’s passport tell the trials and tribulations of 14 years of touring the world chasing his triathlon dreams.
“Team wise the major highlight would certainly be the journey and lead up to being selected in the team for the Rio Olympic Games,” said Fisher who joined Aaron Royle, Ryan Bailie, Emma Moffatt, Erin Densham and Ashleigh Gentle in Rio.
“Closely behind that was my first ever World Championships team as a junior in 2010 in Budapest.
“I still remember being presented with my race suit in Budapest the night before the race by Courtney Atkinson who at the time I idolised.
“Performance wise it would have to be one of my World Cup wins, specifically in 2015 after spending a few months away from the sport along with winning my first Ironman 70.3 race.”
And Fisher could not have wished for a better ending to his career, winning the Super League Teams title with his Scorpion team mates.
“Being at the end of the season, timing had a big part to play but also I find it to be the most enjoyable style of racing,” said Fisher.
“From the format itself to the entire way the League is run and ultimately the athletes and staff.
“As cliché it may sound but it has a real family type feel to it and I genuinely feel fortunate to be able to finish my career in that environment.
“Triathlon is an amazing sport and with it comes some incredible opportunities that I’ll always be thankful for. I’m looking forward to following along and supporting Triathlon in Australia and the federation.
So what’s next for Ryan Fisher?
“I launched a cycling apparel brand Salire Society (soon to be rebranded to Salire) off the back of Covid and I will now be fully committed to bringing to life the vision that I have for the brand which is much more than solely cycling apparel,” said Fisher.
“I’m genuinely excited for Salire and what it will bring, along with weekend surfs and more time with friends and family are just a few things along with a long list of others.”
Congrats Ryan on a well lived and well travelled triathlon life, as the next chapter awaits the triathlete they call “Fish”.
