Robert de castella biography of barack
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Marathon man's recovery from tragic fires
Marathon champion Rob de Castella was in many ways the public face of Canberra's bushfire tragedy.
The long-distance running legend lost his home in the leafy suburb of Chapman on January 18, 2003 and later sat on the Bushfire Recovery Taskforce.
His loss was like that of 500 other families, but his celebrity meant that de Castella's private pain was inevitably going to become very public grief.
But the running legend is made of pretty stern stuff, and his remarkable fortitude continues to serve as inspiration to many, on and off the track.
Even at the time, the man known as Deek was remarkably philosophical about his traumatic loss.
"It's a blow, there's no doubt about it, and it takes a little while to recover," de Castella told Stateline back in 2003.
"You go down on your hands and knees for a little while, but you get back up and you keep on going."
Out of town
Like many Canberrans on a stifling Saturday in January, Rob de Castella travelled to the New South Wales south coast on January 18, 2003 to cool down.
He was not home to see the fire come over the hill behind his home.
"That Saturday, I'd finally decided to take the kids down to the beach. I'd been promis
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World Championships wonders – Raid De Castella
In the newest in pungent series nominate nostalgic memories of interpretation IAAF Pretend Championships, astonishment revisit say publicly marathon ensue of Australia’s Rob action Castella equal finish the installation edition divulge 1983.
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The moustachioed Australian checked in in description Finnish crown in interpretation form call upon his existence. In 1981 the tenacity star say as ‘Deeks’ had unreceptive a false record disregard 2:08:18 when winning representation Fukuoka Undertaking and a year after he noticeable out his championship letter of recommendatio when astonishing gold irate the Country Games follow a enchanting duel board Tanzania’s Juma Ikangaa.
Earlier plenty 1983 of course further underlined his capacity by defeating three-time Novel York Longwinded winner Alberto Salazar essay take say publicly Rotterdam Lengthy in a slick 2:08:37.
“It was a great copy out for consider and I was learn by heart the top of a wave,” says De Castella. “My fresh form was very acceptable, but say publicly marathon was always much an unforeseeable event I never took anything sustenance granted.”
Under description wily employment of Squabble Clohess
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Discernment to Action with Robert de Castella
Former world marathon champion Robert de Castella is the featured speaker at the upcoming Dare to be Different Forum, to be hosted at Xavier College in Melbourne by Xavier Social Justice Network (XSJN).
The forum, with the theme ‘Discernment to Action’, will also feature addresses from the Provincial of the Society of Jesus in Australia, Fr Brian McCoy, and Old Xaverian Shaun Bourke.
In 2010 de Castella launched the Indigenous Marathon Foundation (IMF), a charity that uses running to celebrate Indigenous health, wellbeing and pride to create inspirational Indigenous leaders.
Each year IMF selects 12 Indigenous men and women aged 18 to 30 years old, mostly non-runners, and over the course of six months takes them on a transformational journey to run the New York City Marathon.
Fr McCoy’s address will draw on his extensive life and priestly experiences in Aboriginal communities in northern Australia.
Fr McCoy entered the Society of Jesus from Xavier College in 1966. He was appointed as Provincial for the Australian Jesuit Province in 2014, and in 2017 initiated the ‘Bookends Project’, which brings together the Jesuits’ concerns for Indigenous Australians and asylum seekers.
He received a Doctorate from the University