Born August 1957, in Port Alberni, British Columbia, Rick was an avid sports player right from childhood: volleyball, baseball, softball, and basketball. An unfortunate accident happened to Rick at the age of 15 while travelling back home from a fishing excursion. Rick and his friend Don decided to hitchhike—catching a ride in the back of a pickup truck—the driver had lost control due to being intoxicated. This accident had cause Rick to land on a big steel toolbox, resulting in breaking his back and becoming paralyzed from the waist down.
Rick is known for having a resilient spirit, less than a year after his tragic accident, he had decided to return to sports while attending UBC. In 1986, Rick became the first person with a disability to graduate UBC with a degree in physical education.
Returning to his love of sports, between 1979 and 1984, Rick accumulated many awards. 19 coming from international wheelchair marathons, 4 world titles, and 9 Pan American Wheelchair gold medals—playing on the Vancouver Cable Cars wheelchair basketball team is included.
After his season of sports, Rick had been inspired by Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope and created the Man in Motion World Tour and the Rick Hansen Foundation. The goal for this tour was to raise awareness and fundraising for spinal cord injuries and research, as well as encouraging communities to become more accessible and inclusive with those with physical disabilities. Travelling over 40,072 kms over 34 different countries while wearing out 160 wheelchairs and 94 gloves, Rick raised more than $26 million for spinal cord research, rehabilitation, and wheelchair sports. In 2006, Rick was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, and celebrated the 25th anniversary celebration of the tour in 2011 by travelling across Canada, visiting 600 different communities
Sources Used For This Page:
youtube.com, canadianencyclopedia.ca, sttpcanada.crd-bce.ca,
and pictures are from: vancouversun.ca and historymuseum.ca