Eight years ago, Jake Howe faced the very real prospect of never being able to hold his son. Just moments after texting his girlfriend, who was only three months’ pregnant at the time, to pick him up from a 21st birthday party, Jake was dropped on his head in a play-fight with a mate on the Barrack Street Jetty in Perth, WA.
Read MoreEight years ago, Jake Howe faced the very real prospect of never being able to hold his son. Just moments after texting his girlfriend, who was only three months’ pregnant at the time, to pick him up from a 21st birthday party, Jake was dropped on his head in a play-fight with a mate on the Barrack Street Jetty in Perth, WA.
In what can only be described as a freak accident, he was paralysed immediately, and spent the following months – while simultaneously preparing for Lucas’ birth – relearning how to use his hands, eat and shower.
Fast-forward to 2020, and Jake is a World Championship silver medallist on track to represent Australia once again at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, where the Australian wheelchair rugby team, the Steelers, will be aiming to win their third consecutive Paralympic title.
Jake, who is yet to taste gold at a major tournament, made his World Championship debut in 2018. Despite an unbeaten run to the gold medal match and a home-court advantage, Japan proved too strong for the Australians, with the Steelers making an uncharacteristic and decisive error with 90 seconds to play to bring an end to their six-year reign at major tournaments. However, this was exactly the kind of international experience Jake – and fellow rookie Josh Nicholson – needed to be able to go toe-to-toe with the best wheelchair rugby players in the world.
At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, the Steelers’ nine-year reign as Paralympic champions came to an end when the team finished fourth after being defeated by Japan 52–60 in the bronze medal game. It was the first time in 17 years that the team didn’t win a medal.
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