Latest news with #JackFleming
ABC News
11-05-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Grieving family reflects on 'beautiful' tribute from former Liverpool player
Tasmanian Ken Fleming is a passionate Liverpool FC fan, but there's a piece of memorabilia in his footy collection that evokes bittersweet memories. On the wall of his home gym in Tranmere near Hobart is a signed edition of former Liverpool footballer Adam Lallana's playing shirt, framed with a letter penned by the footballer in honour of Mr Fleming's son Jack, who died aged 21 of an incurable brain tumour. Jack was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) in 2016, after complaining of a headache and experiencing a seizure. He died 22 months later. Lallana's letter and signed shirt were in response to an email Jack had partially written to the player, his father's idol, before his death in 2018. Mr Fleming discovered it after his son had died and posted it to Lallana with his own letter to honour his son's wishes. "When I got onto his computer after he died, I found this very poorly written letter to Adam Lallana just saying that my father's doing so much for me," Mr Fleming told ABC Hobart. Jack had been studying commerce/law at the University of Tasmania when he was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive and deadly form of brain cancer. In his letter to Lallana, Jack asks the football player for some signed memorabilia for his father, who, he writes "has been helping me tremendously since I got diagnosed". "I can honestly say that the only reason I have survived over 12 months is because of him." He told Lallana the memorabilia would be a surprise for his dad, though Mr Fleming learned later that his wife and brothers knew about it. "Jack was an extremely bright kid at uni and doing extremely well. But towards the end as the cancer took over, it scrambled his brain," Mr Fleming said. "The letter was very poorly constructed. But clearly, I could see the set-up and what he was trying to do. "I sent it to Adam, added my context and Adam sent back the shirt which I've since framed with the most beautiful letter saying that he would keep the letter in his locker, you know, just to remind him he had two boys, and he knew what I was going through. "So it meant a lot." In his return letter, Lallana tells Mr Fleming how deeply Jack's letter had affected him and promises "to keep Jack's letter in my locker at the training ground for the entire season". "I am a father of two young boys — so my immediate thoughts are those of a fellow parent," he writes. "His inspirational words will provide me with an ongoing reminder of his courage, but also the responsibility we have as professional footballers to give everything always, because of the love and support of people like your Jack. "With love and compassion, You'll Never Walk Alone." Mr Fleming said he was moved to tears by Lallana's words. "I didn't know if I would get a response, but I wanted to honour Jack's wishes. Then Adam wrote back with this beautiful letter; it was a very cathartic moment." In the months following his son's death, Mr Fleming reached out to other public figures including former US president Joe Biden whose son Beau had died of a glioblastoma brain tumour a few years earlier, and US senator John McCain before he likewise died in 2018 from the disease. He also shared his son and family's experience in the book, Jack's Story: The life and death of Jack Fleming, and has advocated for new brain cancer treatments and research. "Both Joe Biden and senator John McCain wrote back to me," Mr Fleming said. "It's about connecting with like souls and understanding their grief and pain. It's about trying to find sanity in a world that's gone mad. "I never thought this would happen to any of my children. Our life changed; there were no more rules after Jack died." On June 5, 2018, Senator McCain thanked Mr Fleming for sending him a copy of Jack's Story, and in December that year Joe Biden also replied. "As you know glioblastoma cancer has touched my life and those that I love dearly," Mr Biden wrote. "Our sons gave us so much more than they knew, so much for us to cherish." Senator McCain said he appreciated "the bravery it took to write this book about what it is really like inside a life with a glioblastoma multiforme". Also known as GBM, glioblastoma multiforme is the deadliest form of brain cancer; it is fast growing and can strike at any age. Former Australian of the Year Richard Scolyer was diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma in 2023 and took part in experimental immunotherapy treatment, but recently revealed his brain cancer had returned and he had only months to live. Mr Fleming said the correspondence he had with others affected by GBM, including Adam Lallana, provide some solace during moments of intense grief, "when all hell breaks out". "That was the outcome [of connecting with Lallana], that beautiful shirt and beautiful memories," he said.
Otago Daily Times
01-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Cemetery project makes grave discovery
At least three probable unmarked graves were discovered using ground-penetrating radar at Cromwell Cemetery and it is very likely more will be discovered in the coming weeks as the data is analysed. Southern Geophysical geophysicist Jack Fleming said during the mapping process his team found sites with a few surface depressions that align with unmarked graves during their time at Cromwell Cemetery yesterday. "They show all the signatures of an unmarked burial." The data will be analysed properly over the next few weeks when it is hoped the probable graves as well as others would be confirmed. Mr Fleming said it was surprising to find three probable unmarked graves while out on the site. The Southern Geophysical team (from left) George Dart, Jack Fleming and Jess MacFarquhar scan the southeast corner of Cromwell Cemetery with ground-penetrating radar. PHOTOS: ELLA JENKINS "It's not always the case that it shows up that clearly in what we call the raw data. "We usually have to do a bit of processing and analysis but yeah, no, that was certainly nice." The Christchurch-based company had offered the service for more than 15 years all over New Zealand, he said. Mr Fleming said the mapping process involved pushing a trolley with a 350 MHz hyper-stacking antenna which was one of the leading ground-penetrating radars in the world. Also on the trolley was a GPS antenna which allows Mr Fleming and his colleagues to correlate the data collected and get it to within 2cm accuracy in real time. Jack Fleming discusses the mapping process with Friends of Cromwell Cemetery member Katie Seymour. The radar collects the data, stores it and then displays it on a screen. "Our team of geophysicists will assess the data, make our picks, we call it, and we will map out the unmarked graves or features that are indicative of unmarked graves," he said. Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust treasurer and project manager Odette Hopgood said the work was part of the trust's heritage sites review. With the help of the Central Lakes Trust, Pub Charities, donations and funds raised from events, the trust was able to call in Southern Geophysical to map the cemetery's northeast corner. Ms Hopgood said the mapping would ensure no unmarked graves would be encroached on during repair works.
Otago Daily Times
30-04-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Possible unmarked graves discovered in cemetery
At least three probable unmarked graves were discovered using ground-penetrating radar at Cromwell Cemetery and it is very likely more will be discovered in the coming weeks as the data is analysed. Southern Geophysical geophysicist Jack Fleming said during the mapping process his team found sites with a few surface depressions that align with unmarked graves during their time at Cromwell Cemetery yesterday. "They show all the signatures of an unmarked burial." The data will be analysed properly over the next few weeks when it is hoped the probable graves as well as others would be confirmed. Mr Fleming said it was surprising to find three probable unmarked graves while out on the site. The Southern Geophysical team (from left) George Dart, Jack Fleming and Jess MacFarquhar scan the southeast corner of Cromwell Cemetery with ground-penetrating radar. PHOTOS: ELLA JENKINS "It's not always the case that it shows up that clearly in what we call the raw data. "We usually have to do a bit of processing and analysis but yeah, no, that was certainly nice." The Christchurch-based company had offered the service for more than 15 years all over New Zealand, he said. Mr Fleming said the mapping process involved pushing a trolley with a 350 MHz hyper-stacking antenna which was one of the leading ground-penetrating radars in the world. Also on the trolley was a GPS antenna which allows Mr Fleming and his colleagues to correlate the data collected and get it to within 2cm accuracy in real time. Jack Fleming discusses the mapping process with Friends of Cromwell Cemetery member Katie Seymour. The radar collects the data, stores it and then displays it on a screen. "Our team of geophysicists will assess the data, make our picks, we call it, and we will map out the unmarked graves or features that are indicative of unmarked graves," he said. Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust treasurer and project manager Odette Hopgood said the work was part of the trust's heritage sites review. With the help of the Central Lakes Trust, Pub Charities, donations and funds raised from events, the trust was able to call in Southern Geophysical to map the cemetery's northeast corner. Ms Hopgood said the mapping would ensure no unmarked graves would be encroached on during repair works.
Boston Globe
18-04-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Once again, the Boston Marathon field is incredibly fast. Here's what you had to run to get a bib.
But it's not just about qualifying anymore. For the 2025 race, Boston Athletic Association rejected a record number of applicants for the second consecutive year. The BAA received 36,393 applications, and 12,324 qualified applicants were rejected — more than 1,000 more than the 2024 race. To earn admission to the 2025 Boston Marathon, runners had to finish at least six minutes and 51 seconds faster than their qualifying standard for their age and gender, according to the BAA. As an example: Men aged 18-34, for whom the standard has been set at 3 hours for the last few years, needed to run faster than 2:53:09 to punch their ticket. The 6:51 cut-off time is the second-highest since 2014. See the historical cut-off times here: Advertisement 'Boston Marathon qualifiers have trained thousands of miles with the hopes of lining up in Hopkinton on Patriots' Day, ready to race towards the finish in Boston,' said Jack Fleming, President and CEO of the BAA in a statement. 'The sport of marathoning is reaching record levels from both a participation and speed standpoint. Unfortunately, we're unable to accept all athletes into the field, though we do want to recognize, thank, and applaud all whose goal was to be part of the 2025 event.' Advertisement The accepted field for the 129th Boston Marathon includes residents of all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., and other US territories as well as citizens of 118 countries. The strict cutoff time, a jump from last year's 5-minute-29-second cutoff, will likely stand as a record for some time, with the BAA set to lower its qualifying standards for the 2026 race by five minutes for each age and gender group. The 2025 Boston Marathon is set for Monday. Previous Globe reporting was used in this story. Aiden Barker can be reached at
Boston Globe
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Judge splits decision on race bias claims at Boston Marathon
Advertisement Newton's mayor said the ruling was encouraging, while the lawyers for the running group deemed it 'a crucial step toward justice.' Boston Athletic Association officials said they had not had ample time to evaluate the decision. TrailblazHers Run Co. and three of its founding members filed the civil suit in US District Court in Boston just days before the 2024 marathon. According to an 18-page complaint, the running group's members claimed they were 'While white spectators viewed and enjoyed the event in peace, the people of color were racially profiled and discriminated against,' the lawsuit said. 'For individual members, police profiling and scrutiny turns what should be a day of joy and festivity into one of pain, humiliation and trauma.' The TrailblazHers set up a cheering section at mile 21 in Newton with more than 100 spectators, mostly people of color. They gathered with food, music, and signs like 'hundreds of other groups' along the 26-mile course, according to the group's lawyers. Newton Police have said that officers responded to the area where the TrailblazHers were gathered three times at the request of marathon organizers to keep spectators from obstructing runners. Judge Talwani on Thursday granted defense requests to dismiss civil conspiracy claims, as well as a request by Newton and its former police chief to dismiss an equal protection claim, online court records show. Advertisement A copy of the judge's written ruling was not available online Thursday. Instead, a summary of her ruling, partially granting and partially denying motions to dismiss filed by defense lawyers last June, was noted on the court's online docket. In their motion, the city's lawyers argued, 'it is a bridge too far to assume merely because the police were called on the plaintiffs' during the 2023 Marathon, the municipal defendants earlier formulated and joined a plan to infringe upon their civil rights.' In the four years prior to 2023, the TrailblazHers had set up a cheer zone at mile 21 in Newton without incident, the defense motion said. The events alleged at the 2023 marathon are 'at most, an isolated event in response to the Boston Athletic Association's complaints that day and not part of a custom, policy, or practice,' the motion continued. In the same ruling, Judge Talwani refused a defense request to dismiss a claim predicated on a state public accommodations law. The running group's attorneys at Lawyers for Civil Rights deemed the ruling 'a major victory,' saying it 'reaffirmed that spaces where people gather to celebrate and support runners must remain free from racial discrimination,' in a statement issued Thursday. The ruling is 'a crucial step toward justice for TrailblazHers and all those who were targeted simply for showing up in support of their community,' the statement said. Boston Athletic Association President and CEO Jack Fleming in an email Thursday said, 'We are continuing to evaluate the court's ruling from earlier today, and I'm not in a position to provide a further comment at this time.' Advertisement Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller said Talwani's ruling was encouraging. 'We are encouraged by the US District Court's decision to dismiss federal claims against the City of Newton and our former Chief of Police,' Fuller said in an email. 'On the remaining claim, we are confident that the City and our Police Department acted respectfully and appropriately during the 2023 Boston Marathon.' This year's marathon is scheduled for April 21. Tonya Alanez can be reached at
