Lost and depressed after losing his leg in a car crash, Australian Paralympic cyclist Stuart Tripp found hope in an unexpected hero: a 16th-century Japanese swordsman.
The Rio H5 time trial silver medallist ended his Games campaign by finishing seventh in the road race after leading the field most of the way.
But thanks to the teachings of a ronin, or wandering samurai, the 46-year-old is well equipped to deal with disappointment.
The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi helped shape Tripp's philosophies at a time when he was feeling lost.
"I read it probably about five years after I had a pretty bad car accident where I lost my leg and almost my life," he said.
"I was in the wilderness and that book gave me some inspiration to move out of it."
At 24-years-old, Tripp flew off a bend while driving on a country road and finished wrapped around a tree.
The Victorian woke after weeks in a coma to discover he had suffered head trauma, kidney failure and crushed legs which led to the loss of his right leg.
He developed depression, started drinking and smoking and was overweight.
Tripp says it was sport and the teachings of a 500-year-old samurai that rescued him from the emotional wreckage.
So inspired by Musashi's teachings, Tripp got a tattoo of what the author called the five elements of being.
"I needed myself to be brought back into being, and (the tattoo) reminds me of who I am now," he said.
The London Paralympian also listens to a compilation of music played on his wedding day before each race to give him a boost.
"It reminds me of my wife, how beautiful she is and how lucky I am," he said.
"One track I like on it is Somewhere Over the Rainbow, the version by that Hawaiian with the name I can't pronounce (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole)."
