Rick Hansen

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Richard Marvin Hansen CC, OBC, LLD (honoris causa), D.Litt. (honoris causa) (born August 26, 1957) is a Canadian paraplegic athlete and activist for people with spinal cord injuries. Following a car crash at the age of 15, Hansen sustained a spinal cord injury that paralyzed him from the waist down. Hansen is most famous for his Man in Motion world tour.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Man in Motion world tour 3 Post-tour career & personal 4 Awards and honours 5 Books written 6 External links

[edit] Early life

Born in Port Alberni, British Columbia, Hansen grew up in Williams Lake, British Columbia. As a young athlete, he had won all-star awards in five sports when he was paralyzed at the age of 15 after being thrown from the back of a truck. He worked on rehabilitation, completed high school, then became the first student with a physical disability to graduate in physical education from the University of British Columbia. Hansen won national championships on wheelchair volleyball and wheelchair basketball teams. He went on to become a world class champion wheelchair marathoner and 1980 Summer Paralympics athlete (where he won gold in the 800m). Hansen won -1 international wheelchair marathon, including three world championships. He also coached high school basketball and volleyball.

[edit] Man in Motion world tour

Hansen was inspired to attempt his greatest feat by Terry Fox, who attempted an 8,000 km cross-Canada Marathon of Hope with an artificial leg in the name of raising funds for cancer research.

He started his Man in Motion tour on March 21, 1985 from Oakridge Mall in Vancouver. Although public attention was low at the beginning of the tour, he soon attracted international media attention as he progressed on a 26-month trek, logging over 40,000 km through 34 countries on four continents before crossing Canada. He returned to Vancouver's BC Place Stadium to cheering crowds of thousands on May 22, 1987 after raising $26 million for spinal cord research and quality of life initiatives. Like Terry Fox, he was hailed as a national hero.

Today, the wheelchair and many other items associated with the Man in Motion world tour are preserved by the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. The song "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" was written in his honor by fellow British Columbian David Foster and performed by John Parr for the soundtrack of the film St. Elmo's Fire. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States on September 7, 1985.

[edit] Post-tour career & personal

Hansen became president and CEO of the Rick Hansen Foundation, which has generated more than $178 million for spinal cord injury related programs and initiatives. He has served as chair of both the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Societyand the Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund Society, helping to restore and protect sturgeon and salmon populations in British Columbia.

Hansen married Amanda Reid, his former physiotherapist. They have three daughters, Emma, Alana and Rebecca, and live in Richmond, BC.

[edit] Awards and honours

• Lou Marsh Trophy (1983)
• Companion of the Order of Canada (March 29, 1988)
• Order of British Columbia (1990)
• Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (2006)
• Canada's Walk of Fame (2007)
• UBC Sports Hall of Fame
• National disabled athlete of the year (1979)
• W.A.C. Bennett Award (BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum) (1994)
• Honorary Doctor of Laws, UBC
• Honorary Doctor of Letters, McGill University (2005)
• Honorary Doctor of Letters, [Thompson Rivers University, Williams Lake Campus](2007)
• Three public schools have been named after Hansen:
  • Rick Hansen Secondary School, Abbotsford, British Columbia
  • Rick Hansen Secondary School, Mississauga, Ontario
  • Rick Hansen Elementary School, London, Ontario

He was named Commissioner General for the Canadian Pavilion at Expo '88 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In 1986, a township in Sudbury District, Ontario, previously named the Geographical Township of Stalin, in the athlete's honour as the Township of Hansen. It is within the boundary of the municipality of Killarney.

[edit] Books written

Hansen is the co-author of two books: the autobiographical Rick Hansen: Man in Motion, written with Jim Taylor (published in 1987, ISBN 0-88894-560-4), and the self-help book Going the Distance: Seven Steps to Personal Change, written with Dr. Joan Laub (published in 1994, ISBN 1-55054-119-6).

[edit] External links

• Rick Hansen Foundation official website
• BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
• CBC Digital Archives – Rick Hansen: Man In Motion