Meeting 21st September 2021: Speaker Jack Howell.
17-year-old Jack is a young man on a mission. Being born without a hand on his left arm did not hold Jack back, soon learning how to overcome his disability and do what all the other kids did, although learning to tie his shoelaces took a lot of time and effort.
Always keen on sport he tried Aussie Rules, cricket, tennis, surfing, swimming, cycling and athletics. Being very competitive he excelled at running, riding, and swimming, so he took on the challenge of triathlon, which involves a 750-metre swim, 20-kilometre bike ride and 5-kilometre run.
He has done extremely well and is aiming at selection for the 2024 Para Olympic Games in Paris. He is the youngest categorised athlete by Triathlon Australia and the Australian Institute of Sport. He already has a long list of achievements including 2019 Variety and Toyota AFL Young Sportsman of
the Year Award and the 2021 Olympic Changemaker Award.
Jack gave a very detailed and interesting talk, and we wish him well for his future endeavours, hopefully we will see him in Paris in three years’ time.