[2] De Paepe grew up on a farm, specializing the production of strawberries, in the country-side of Bois-de-Nivelles in Hainaut Province, Belgium, in a family of 5, with a brother and a sister.

[5] He represented Belgium at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece finishing 6th in the final of the men's 400 metres freestyle S9.

[6] After a long hiatus from competition sports, and when COVID-19 forced him to slow down at work, he turned to sports and after he cycled up the Mount Ventoux in France,[7] he decided to join the "Royal Cercle Athlétique du Brabant Wallon" [8] setting his mind to para triathlon.

[9][10] He follows that up in December of that year with another bronze medal, this time at the World Triathlon Para Championships in Abu Dhabi.

[11][12] Nearly a year later to the day, he wins another bronze medal at the 2022 World Triathlon Para Championships again in Abu Dhabi.