| John Cann | |
| Nationality: | Australian |
| Sport: | Athletics, rugby league |
| Event: | Decathlon |
| Birth Date: | 15 January 1938 |
| Birth Place: | Sydney, Australia |
| Height: | 185 cm |
| Weight: | 82 kg |
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]