On Tuesday 30th January, Key Stage 2 pupils at Ecclesbourne were treated to an motivational talk by James Ketchell. In 2014, James became the first and only person to have rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, successfully summitted Mount Everest and cycled 18,000 miles around the world – the ultimate triathlon! As if that wasn’t enough, in 2019 he flew into the Guinness World Records when he became the first person to fly an officially-ratified trip around the world in an open-cockpit gyroplane!
James spoke to us about how he managed these amazing feats due to his powerful mindset of never giving up. He told us, “Everything works out in the end. If things aren’t working out, it’s because it’s not the end!”
We heard all about how James overcame adversity having broken both his legs in a motorcycle accident and being told he would struggle to walk again, setting himself small but achievable goals until he was not only back to full fitness but achieving incredible feats of mental and physical strength.
Now his mission is to inspire young people in classrooms all over the world to achieve their dreams, spreading his message that you can do whatever you set your mind to.
Year 6 were lucky enough to take part in a workshop with James, where they got to grips with his climbing equipment and tasted some of the dehydrated food he would have eaten on Everest. James kindly gifted us signed copies of his two books, ‘The Ultimate Triathlon’ and ‘It’s All Mental’.
Thank you for inspiring us, James!
