Triathlete John Maclean will share his inspiring story at the Healthier Illawarra Men’s lunch in November. Photo: Supplied.
John Maclean, one of Australia’s greatest wheelchair athletes, who went on to leave the wheels behind and learn to walk again, will be the guest speaker for the Healthier Illawarra Men’s (HIM) International Men’s Day Lunch this year.
The event, at the Novotel Wollongong Northbeach on 22 November, will see Maclean share his inspiring story of overcoming adversity and embracing challenges as fuel for growth and achievement.
“The theme for International Men’s Day in 2024 is ‘Positive Male Role Models’ and I don’t think we could find a better example than Maclean to host in Wollongong for what will be our third annual IMD [International Men’s Day] event,” HIM chair Mark Sleigh said.
“The way he’s come back from adversity to triumph and take his life to another level really shows the spirit we’d love to see in all healthy Illawarra men.
“A major part of the work we do is very much focused on the 14- to 20-year age group. Getting them to have positive role models and become positive role models in their own right amongst their peers is really important and I think John and his story will definitely resonate in that space.”
In June 1988, during fitness training near his hometown in Sydney, Maclean was hit by an eight-tonne truck while riding his bike.
The impact left him with multiple injuries, including a fractured sternum, punctured lungs and a broken arm, ultimately resulting in paraplegia.
In a video, Maclean said the question he had to ask himself was “where to from here?”
“We’ve all had our truck moments in life and, therefore, how do we rebound from getting hit by a truck?” he said.
“How do we rebound when results are not looking ideally as we would like them to look?”
Despite the immense challenges and pain, Maclean chose to rise above his circumstances, proving himself in some of the world’s toughest sporting events.
He made history in 1995 as the first wheelchair athlete to finish the course at the world’s toughest multi-discipline sporting event, Hawaii Ironman Triathlon.
He then went on to swim the English Channel, complete the Molokai Ocean challenge, and represent Australia at the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
He said his determination and drive came down to critical things that happened in those early stages after his accident, from his dad saying “Son, I would give you my legs if I could” to words spoken by his family doctor who knew him from when he was a small boy.
“He sat on the side of the bed and he looked me in the eye and he said, ‘John, don’t worry. You will be bigger, you will be stronger, and you will be faster,’” he said.
“He then left the room.
“He provided a seed of hope.”
Maclean’s journey took an extraordinary turn in April 2013 when he began working with NeuroPhysics therapist Ken Ware to retrain his mind and body to unlock new neural responses.
After 25 years in a wheelchair, Maclean started walking again, achieving a lifelong dream to walk hand-in-hand on the beach with his wife.
In October 2014, Maclean returned to compete in the Nepean Triathlon, the event he was training for when his accident occurred.
He completed the race as a conventional athlete, walking the final 10 kms over three and a half hours.
“I like the idea of chasing dreams,” he said.
“If you chase them, you’re a chance of catching them.”
Maclean also co-founded The John Maclean Foundation in 1998, dedicated to supporting young wheelchair users in Australia.
He will now be part of Nine’s commentary panel for the Paralympics in Paris.
In 2022, the HIM committee produced the Gotcha4Life fundraising brunch with Karl Stefanovic and Gus Worland, raising more than $35,000 for Gotcha4Life programs in the Illawarra.
In total, it has raised $200,000 to support Illawarra organisations and initiatives.
Mark said International Men’s Day lunches had been a success from a networking perspective, allowing participants to be in a room with like-minded individuals looking to better themselves, their families and their peers.
“John will obviously be an inspiring speaker to give us messages and lessons from his life that we can take back and apply in our own worlds,” he said.
Tickets for the Healthier Illawarra Men’s International Men’s Day Lunch on 22 November at Novotel Wollongong Northbeach will go on sale on 1 August. To learn more, visit Healthier Illawarra Men.
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