From running past the finish line in his first cross-country race, to preparing to represent Australia at the 2025 Virtus World Championship, Jérôme Etteridge’s story is one of resilience, growth, and quiet determination.
A former student at Aspect South East School, Jérôme now works at the same school as a teacher aide - supporting students, speaking at public events, and inspiring others through his story. His recent selection for Team Australia is not only a dream come true, but a moment that captures years of hard work, recovery, and personal growth.
In this Q&A, Jérôme reflects on the highs and lows of his journey - sharing insights into training, self-acceptance, recovery, and what drives him to keep going.
You’ve gone from being an Aspect student to now working as a teacher aide at the same school. What has that experience been like for you?
The short answer is rewarding. The long answer is a bit more complicated, as during my final year, my teacher at the time, Alex Rowe, gave me work experience at our former Loftus campus, which at the time was our Kirrawee campus.
After doing my TAFE studies, I was over the moon to be told by my former Teacher, Lauren McKevett, that I’d been offered a job placement at her campus.
How did your passion for athletics begin, what was the first sport you played and what does it mean to you to be selected to represent Australia at the 2025 Virtus World Championship?
I started doing cross country in year 3 and at my first school event I ran past the finish line turn-off, so to say sports and running in particular has had a big impact on my life is an understatement.
Since winning my first state cross-country in Canberra 15 years ago, I’ve tried running in multiple races while remaining in the intellectual impairment category but now, having grown up, I’ve independently learned to embrace my autism diagnosis and I've switched to running in autism-based races.
I struggle to put into words the many, many emotions that I’ve been experiencing since my selection, as I’ve had a big weight put on my shoulders to get on an Australian team and get a chance to be put on a world stage. It’s just crazy looking back at a year old me and being able to say to myself, don’t give up, keep going, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. If you just push through the pain, it will all be worth it.
Training for high-level competitions can be intense. How do you balance your work, training, and everything else in your life?
If I’m going to be honest, this is one of the things that I didn’t balance correctly, as over the years I’ve slowly been adding more and more training, which increased my workload and I didn’t give my body enough rest.
Late last year I ended up in hospital due to a bad viral infection attacking my heart muscle. I learned later on that I had overworked my body to a point where my immune system had deteriorated and I needed to stop playing sports for some time. Since then, I’ve been recovering and have been slowly getting back into training but it isn’t easy as I need to take time to listen to not just how my body feels but also my heart.
The good news is that I’ve made a full recovery and I’ve got a large team that consists of many different professions all working tirelessly to firstly keep me healthy and secondly, get me back to full capacity.
You’ve also done some motivational speaking and advocacy work. What or who has guided your values, beliefs and passions?
Ever since I was a student at Aspect, I lost the need to fit in or the ability to feel like an outcast as I was surrounded by my friends who, at the end of the day, were in the same boat as me.
Leaving school, my family told me about my natural talent for talking about heavy topics like autism but in a really inviting way, so they recommended I pursue public speaking. This career path is really rewarding but I've faced many challenges. However, I've made it a mission to not back down, as I know a lot of what I say and do will be looked back on and it's important I set a good example.
I also wanted to mention, I am a person who enjoys the rush of speaking to a large crowd and it has paid off, as I was briefly given a spot on WIN News Illawara.
(watch here: https://youtu.be/oU9EjzIMkxM)
What advice would you give to young people who might have big dreams like yours - especially those at a crossroad or unsure how to progress?
This is really hard for me to answer. I think one of the biggest things is to take your time and savour every moment, make sure not to spend too much time thinking about what you plan to do in the next few months and find more ways to enjoy each and every moment between bigger events.
You also need to pace yourself as too many people want the dessert, which would be in this case playing for Team Aus but because that's all they want they will be burnt out after one year of competing and not making the team.
Finally, keep your head up and take on challenges but be aware, being on the top of a ladder is a long and difficult journey where you will get hurt and injured from time to time, so if this is something you can accept, go for it!
