Brain tumor can’t stop John Wall: Aussie sprint champ barrels on

John looks forward to 2016 Perth worlds.

John Wall is my newest hero. He’s an Australian M65 sprinter who two years ago was preparing to die. According to an amazing story in The Daily Telegraph: “After the operation, and the diagnosis was what is was [a malignant brain tumor], I resigned myself to the fact I was going to die,” John said after winning the 60 (8.61) and 100 (13.8 into a gale) at the Oceania Masters Athletics Championships. “It was a pretty dire position and I have never been in a position where I was not in control of my own body.” Somehow — it’s not clear from the story — he fought back with the support of his manager and best friend Cherie Myers. But he also says: “I don’t want to know how long I have. My headspace is that I want to live as long and productively as I can. … I say to anyone who has cancer: Do not limit yourself to a label somebody gives you.” John, one of a handful of men to go sub-12 in 100 after age 60, starred at 2009 World Masters Games in Sydney:

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January 16, 2014

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