John Cann (athlete)
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Australian |
| Born | 15 January 1938 Sydney, Australia |
| Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) |
| Weight | 82 kg (181 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics, rugby league |
| Event | Decathlon |
John Cann (born 15 January 1938) is an Australian athlete. He held an Australian record in hurdles as well as New South Wales state records in hurdles, discus and javelin.[1] He was described in The Canberra Times in 1957 as one of Australia’s best all-round athletes.[1] He represented Australia in the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne finishing 10th in the decathlon.[2]
He also played rugby league for New South Wales Country Firsts (1959) and for the New South Wales state team (1960).[3]
He devoted his post-athletic career to exhibiting and studying snakes and writing several books and lecturing about them.[4] He became known as the Snake Man of La Perouse (a suburb of Sydney).[5] In a YouTube video titled The Snakeman of La Perouse he reflects on his near-lifetime involvement with snakes, other reptiles and turtles.[6] In 2018 he published an as-told-to autobiography titled John Cann - The Last Snake Man.[7]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Olympic Stars for Athletics". Canberra Times. 22 March 1957.
- ^ "John Cann". Olympedia. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ "John Cann - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". rugbyleagueproject.org.
- ^ "John Cann's 80th birthday at the La Perouse Museum". 16 January 2018.
- ^ "Honour for snake man with a passion for turtles". Sydney Morning Herald. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- ^ "The Snakeman of La Perouse" – via youtube.com.
- ^ "The Last Snake Man - John Cann with Jimmy Thomson - 9781760630515 - Allen & Unwin - Australia". allenandunwin.com.
