Jemma Stapleton Dies Aged 25 After 2025 Stawell Gift Final
Jemma Stapleton died aged 25 while overseas on a family holiday, and the news has pulled together tributes from her partner, brother, club and athletics community. The 2025 Stawell Gift finalist was a Victorian sprinter whose death came after a fundraising page for her family was created on Thursday.
Tyler Gray remembers Jemma Stapleton
Tyler Gray posted two lines that captured the scale of the loss. “I can’t put into words the hurt I am feeling.” He also wrote, “You are the single greatest thing to happen to me and I am so grateful for the love we shared.”
Joel, her brother, wrote “Rest in peace.” He added, “I love you so much, I promise I’ll make you proud. You were the best sister and my best friend, I’ll forever miss you.” Joel also shared an online fundraising page that said she “tragically lost her life in an accident.”
Fundraising for the Stapleton family
The fundraising page was set up for the Stapleton family on Thursday and said they were facing “unmeasurable grief” while on a family holiday. It added that the page had been approved by the family and was designed “to help ease a bit of pressure financially for the family so they can grieve together and spend as much time together as possible to get through and navigate this impossible loss.”
The page had already moved past its $100,000 goal. For the family, that means support arrived quickly as they deal with the loss of a daughter, sister and partner while away overseas.
Lysterfield and athletics
Lysterfield junior football club paid tribute to Stapleton on Thursday evening and said her partner and brother were part of its community. The club wrote, “While this news reaches us through those connections, today our thoughts are with Jemma, her family, friends and all those who loved her.”
Stapleton was identified as a 25-year-old Victorian sprinter and a 2025 Stawell Gift finalist. Local Australian athletics organisations also paid tribute after her death, putting her name alongside the clubs and family members now carrying the public response to her loss.
Her death overseas, and the fundraising page that has already cleared its target, leave one immediate reality for those around her: the support network has moved into place fast, but it is doing so around a loss that has already reached well beyond her family.
