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There are a lot of awesome things about Canada, and Rick Hansen may be one of the coolest things about this country. His journey post-injury began in adaptive athletics, but to millions of Canadians he is known as the “Man in Motion,” for his 40,000 mile journey around the globe that took him 2 years to complete, wearing out 117 tires and 11 pairs of gloves in the process.
Rick is now the namesake of one of the biggest disability organizations in Canada, the Rick Hansen Foundation. A husband, father and a disability activist, read on for this amazing man’s story.
Why He’s Fearless
Injured at the age of 15 in 1973, while riding in the back of a pickup truck (it crashed, throwing him several feet), Rick never knew anybody with a disability and fell into a deep depression. Despite being able to walk on crutches, there was no denying he was paralyzed. All of the sports and outdoor activities he grew up loving to do (in the small town of Williams Lake, British Columbia, where he’s from) seemed out of reach.
But then he discovered adapted sports, and his depression began to lift. Wheelchair volleyball, wheelchair racing and wheelchair basketball were the sports he choose, and became good quickly. Rick won his first international wheelchair marathon in 1979, and he competed in wheelchair racing at both the 1980 and 1984 summer Paralympics.
He won 3 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 1 bronze bronze in his time competing, and between 1979 in 1984, Rick won 19 international wheelchair marathons, including the 1984 world tour championships and the 1982 Boston Marathon. Rick also graduated with a degree in Physical Education from the University of British Columbia.
No wonder Canada loves this guy for his athletic prowess. In 1983, he received the Lou Marsh Award for Outstanding Canadian Athlete of the year (along with Wayne Gretzky, whom he shared the award with that year) and in 2000 British Columbia Wheelchair Sports named him “Male Athlete of the Century.” If you take one look at Rick’s arms, you can tell athletics are in this man’s DNA.
The year 1985 was when he became truly famous in Canada. Rick launched his now-famous, “Man In Motion” tour, where he pushed himself 40,000 kilometers and through 34 countries. It took two years to complete (467 of those days were spent on the road) and he met his wife in the process (his physiotherapist left her job and joined him on the road). The mission of this amazing trek was to raise money for spinal cord injury research. $26 million was raised and they also brought attention to the need to make communities more accessible and inclusive.
After this journey, Rick married Amanda and they went on to have three beautiful daughters. He also founded what is now the largest disability foundation in Canada, the Rick Hansen Foundation, in 1988. Their motto is, “Building a healthy, inclusive world” and they’ve raised hundreds of millions of dollars towards spinal cord injury research. They also develop accessibility projects and quality of life initiatives.
What’s Next
Environmentalism is another issue Rick is passionate about. He grew up with a deep love of fishing and is an avid fisherman. Knowing wild fish are endangered, he founded the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society, helping to conserve and protect Fraser River white sturgeon and their habitat. He also formed the Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund Society to help support the conservation and sustainable use of Pacific salmon stocks.
Rick also hasn’t forgotten his first love – athletics. He’s a wheelchair volleyball and basketball coach in his spare time, passing on his love of athletics to younger generations.
ideas@spinalpedia.com
