Personal information | |
---|---|
Birth name | Richard Marvin Hansen |
Nationality | Canadian |
Born | Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada | August 26, 1957
Occupation(s) | Disability activist, former paralympian |
Spouse | Amanda Reid (m. 1987) |
Sport | |
Country | Canada |
Sport | Track and Field |
Richard Marvin Hansen CC OBC (born August 26, 1957) is a Canadian track and field athlete (Paralympic Games), activist, and philanthropist for people with disabilities. Following a pickup truck crash at the age of 15, Hansen sustained a spinal cord injury and became a paraplegic. Hansen is most famous for his Man in Motion World Tour, in which he circled the globe in a wheelchair to raise funds for charity. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. [1] He was one of the final torchbearers in the 1988 Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics. [2] He was profiled and spoke during the 2010 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony. [3]
Born in Port Alberni, British Columbia in 1957, Rick Hansen grew up in Williams Lake, British Columbia. He had an active childhood, where he played volleyball, baseball, softball, and basketball. He often spent time outdoors with his father and grandfather who took him fishing. [4]
On June 27, 1973, Rick and a friend were riding in the back of a pickup truck when the driver lost control of the vehicle and hit a tree. The impact threw Rick and his friend from the vehicle, resulting in a spinal injury that left Rick paralyzed from the waist down. [5]
He worked on rehabilitation, completed high school, and 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 Paralympic athlete. He competed in wheelchair racing at both the 1980 and 1984 Summer Paralympics, winning a total of six medals; three gold, two silver, and one bronze. [6] Hansen won 19 international wheelchair marathons, including three world championships. He also coached high school basketball and volleyball. Rick had a very close relationship with his family, especially with his father and grandfather, with whom he enjoyed frequent fishing trips.
In 1980, fellow British Columbian and Canadian athlete Terry Fox, who had lost a leg to bone cancer, undertook the Marathon of Hope, intending to run across Canada from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island to raise awareness for cancer research. He made it from St. John's, Newfoundland to Thunder Bay, Ontario before a cancer recurrence forced him to stop, about halfway through his journey. Inspired by Terry's courage, Hansen decided to undertake a similar journey to prove the potential of people with disabilities and to inspire a more accessible world. But his planned path was far more ambitious: he planned to circle the world in his wheelchair.
He embarked on his Man in Motion World 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 40,075 km [7] through 34 countries on four continents (North America, Europe, Oceania, and Asia) [8] before crossing Canada. He averaged 8 hours of wheeling and 85 km a day. [7] His highest summit was in the Swiss Alps at 5,577 ft (1700 metres). [7] 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 an international 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 honour by Canadian record producer and composer David Foster and British musician John Parr, and performed by Parr for the soundtrack of the film St. Elmo's Fire . It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in September 1985.
Hansen is currently president and CEO of the Rick Hansen Foundation, which has generated more than $200 million for spinal cord injury-related programs.
The Hansen Foundation was established in 1988, following the completion of Rick Hansen's Man in Motion World Tour, to continue raising funds and awareness to create a world without barriers for people with disabilities. For nearly 30 years, the Foundation has been actively improving the lives of people with disabilities, changing perceptions and breaking down barriers. The vision of the organization is to create an inclusive world where people with disabilities can reach their full potential. Through programs, collaboration and leadership, the Foundation has increased awareness and solutions for the barriers people with disabilities face, created more accessible spaces, improved the quality of life and health outcomes for people with spinal cord injuries, mobility issues and other disabilities.
In addition, the Foundation operates three major programs. The Rick Hansen School Program is designed for students from grades one to twelve, and teaches inclusiveness, disability awareness and leadership. [9] Meanwhile, an online accessibility-related travel tool and consumer ratings guide called planat was also launched in 2011. [10] [11] The Foundation also provides Quality of Life grants to recipients every year.
During 2011 and 2012, the Foundation was also part of a cross-Canada tour called the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay that followed the same route as Hansen's original Man in Motion Tour, roughly 25 years after it began. [12] [13]
Hansen was noted as "the driving force" in the development of the 48 million dollars raised for the International Collaboration of Repair Discoveries (ICORD), an information network designed to track and record "best practices" in spinal cord treatment across the country and internationally. ICORD also maintains the Rick Hansen Spinal Cord Injury Registry, allowing doctors and experts across the country to share vital information on what works and what doesn't for specific kinds of spinal cord injuries. [14]
ICORD is located inside the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre, which is also home to the Brenda and David McLean Integrated Spine Clinic, which provides one-stop outpatient care for people with spinal cord injuries or diseases of the spine, as well as the Rick Hansen Institute (formerly the Spinal Cord Injuries Solutions Network).
The building was designed to be fully accessible, with no need to display the wheelchair disability sign, and integrates research with care.
The province has previously contributed $17.25 million to spinal cord injury research and quality of life – $2.25 million to the B.C. Leadership Chair in Spinal Cord Research at the Rick Hansen Institute at UBC and $15 million to the Rick Hansen Foundation in support of its ongoing work to help improve the lives of people with disabilities.
Hansen is a supporter of the conservation of sturgeon. Hansen contributed to the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society with the money earned from the book Tale of the Great White Fish. Additionally, he has served as chair for both Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society and the Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund Society, helping to restore and protect sturgeon and salmon populations in British Columbia.
In 2017, WE Charity and the Rick Hansen Foundation launched a joint venture to advocate for increased accessibility throughout Canada. The initiative was announced as part of WE Day Ottawa, on November 15. The goal of the initiative is to make every building in Canada fully accessible within 30 years. As part of this effort, RHF developed a program to evaluate and promote accessibility across Canada. The program was added to WE Schools curriculum in over 14,500 schools across Canada, the U.S. and the UK. [15]
Hansen has made several on stage appearances at WE Day events, speaking in front of thousands of students about overcoming disabilities and inspiring others to be active in their communities. [16] He also helped WE develop ideas for improved accessibility to their Global Learning Centre in Toronto, which was inaugurated during the same year. [15]
Hansen earned a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1986 from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
On June 23, 2013, Vancouver Sun columnist David Baines published a lengthy and detailed investigative story about the finances of Hansen and his various foundations and groups. The article, entitled "Behind the Rick Hansen Foundation: Charity's Financial Stewardship Questioned" reveals, among other things, that "in 2009, Hansen donated rights to his name [to the Rick Hansen Foundation] for $1.8 million. In return, he received a $1.8-million tax receipt." It also states that Hansen's salary prior to resigning from his positions as president and CEO in 2011 was "more than $400,000 a year; how much more is not clear." [17]
After his 2011 resignation, he became co-chairman of the foundation (with Lyall Knott) and re-structured his relationship with the foundation by having it create the 'Rick Hansen Leadership Group,' a not-for-profit society that "is technically controlled by the foundation but headed by Hansen and includes two assistants". That restructuring "removed Hansen from the foundation's direct payroll. Instead of paying him directly, the foundation now pays him indirectly through the leadership group"; as a consequence, the foundation does not report any compensation level for him in its CRA returns.
Hansen was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada on June 29, 1987. His citation reads: [20]
Already a world-renowned wheelchair athlete, this British-Columbian fulfilled a dream of wheeling around the world to make others aware of the potential of the disabled and to raise funds for spinal cord research among other things. His 44,075 km. journey, recently completed, took him to four continents and 34 countries, inspiring people around the world to realize their potential and raising many millions of dollars for the cause.
Hansen 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, altered its name to the Township of Hansen in the athlete's honour. It is now within the boundary of the municipality of Killarney.
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: 7 steps to personal change, written with Dr. Joan Laub.
Hansen and his wife Amanda Reid first met during his Man in Motion World Tour as she was his physiotherapist. They married in 1987 and have three daughters. [21] [22] [23]
Location | Date | Appointment | Post-nominal letters |
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Canada | June 29, 1987 –Present | Companion of the Order of Canada [24] | CC |
British Columbia | 1990 –Present | Member of the Order of British Columbia [25] | OBC |
Canada | 1992 | 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal | |
Canada | 2002 | Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (Canadian Version) | [26] |
Canada | 2012 | Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (Canadian Version) | [27] |
Location | Date | School | Position |
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British Columbia | March 3, 2021 –Present | Douglas College | Honorary Fellow [28] |
Military Branch | Date | Regiment | Position |
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Canadian Army | May 22, 2012 –2015 | Canadian Forces Joint Personnel Support Unit | Honorary Colonel [63] |
Terrance Stanley Fox was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated due to cancer, he embarked on an east-to-west cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Although the spread of his cancer eventually forced him to end his quest after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 mi), and ultimately cost him his life, his efforts resulted in a lasting, worldwide legacy. The annual Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, has grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is now the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research; over C$850 million has been raised in his name as of September 2022.
Chantal Petitclerc is a Canadian wheelchair racer and a Senator from Quebec.
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Rick Hansen Secondary School (RHSS), opened in 1999, is a public high school located in the southeast corner of Streetsville, a community in Mississauga, Ontario.
Spinal Cord Injury BC is a not-for-profit organization that helps people with spinal cord injuries and related injuries adjust, adapt and thrive by providing answers, information and community experiences in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Stephanie Cadieux is a Canadian politician, who was elected as a BC Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2009 provincial election, representing the riding of Surrey-Panorama. After the 2013 provincial election, Cadieux was elected in the riding of Surrey-Cloverdale and in the 2017 provincial election, Cadieux was elected in the riding of Surrey South. She is currently Opposition critic for Advanced Education, having previously served, when her party formed the government, as the Minister of Children and Family Development, and prior to that as Minister of Social Development, Minister of Labour, Citizens' Services and Open Government and Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development.
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Robert Daniel Steadward, is a Canadian retired sports administrator, professor, sports scientist, and author. Steadward helped organize the first Canadian wheelchair sport national championships in 1968, and later coached Canada in wheelchair basketball at the Summer Paralympics. He became a professor at the University of Alberta in 1971, later served as chairman of the Department of Athletics, and published more than 150 papers about disability sport. He was the founding president of the Alberta Wheelchair Sports Association in 1971, founded the Research and Training Centre for Athletes with Disabilities in 1978, served as president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee from 1984 to 1990, and later became a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Dr. Gary Birch, is a Canadian Paralympian, an expert in brain–computer interface (BCI) technology and executive director of the Neil Squire Society. In 1975, Dr. Birch was involved in an automobile accident which resulted in injuries to the C6 and C7 area of his spine making him a low-level quadriplegic. He was one of the original players of Murderball, and won several medals in the 1980 Summer Paralympics in the Netherlands. In 2008, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. He continues to champion accessibility through his Research and Development work in assistive technologies at the University of British Columbia, the Rick Hansen Institute, and the Neil Squire Society.
Timothy J. C. Frick is a Canadian wheelchair basketball coach who coached the Canadian women's team to three consecutive Summer Paralympic Games gold medals, in 1992, 1996 and 2000, and four consecutive World Wheelchair Basketball Championship titles, in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006. He was inducted into the Wheelchair Basketball Canada Hall of Fame in 2012, the Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame in 2013, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2014 and induction into the BC Sports Hall of Fame[usurped] in 2017.
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Richard "Bear" Peter is a Canadian First Nations wheelchair basketball and para-badminton player. Peter was born in Duncan, British Columbia, and currently resides in Vancouver. When Richard was four years old, he was injured in a bus accident, leaving him in a wheelchair ever since. He began playing wheelchair basketball at the age of 15 when he was inspired by a team that came to his school and introduced him to wheelchair sports. Since then, Peter has competed in the 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Paralympic Games, winning the gold metal for wheelchair basketball for three of those years.
Eugene "Gene" Reimer was a Canadian wheelchair Paralympic athlete who won 10 Paralympic medals and 50 Canadian and Pan-American medals from 1968 to 1980. Having polio at an early age, he was a member of the wheelchair basketball team Vancouver Cable Cars alongside Terry Fox and Rick Hansen. In 1972, Reimer became the first person with a disability to be named Canada's Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year and to be inducted into the Order of Canada.
David Shannon, CM, OOnt is a Canadian disability/human rights activist, lawyer, politician, actor, university lecturer, author, and adventurer. After breaking his neck in a rugby scrum at the University of Waterloo in 1981, he was rendered a quadriplegic. Subsequently, Shannon finished law school and became a disability rights activist. His Dave Shannon Cross-Canada Tour in 1997 gained national media attention as he became the first quadriplegic to trek across Canada in a motorized wheelchair. Shannon has held positions in academia, law, social services, and human rights in both Thunder Bay, Ontario, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. In the late 2000s, Shannon became the first quadriplegic to reach the North Pole and to parachute out of an airplane at an altitude of over 25,000 feet. Shannon has won numerous prestigious awards and honours, such as the Order of Ontario and the Order of Canada for his work advancing the rights of the disabled and other minority groups in Canada and abroad.
Marni Abbott-Peter is a Canadian retired wheelchair basketball player and current head coach of the Canadian senior women's wheelchair basketball team. As a member of Team Canada, she won three gold medals and one bronze during the Paralympic Games as well as four World Championship titles. She was inducted into the Canadian Paralympic Committee Hall of Fame in 2015. She is married to fellow Paralympic athlete Richard Peter.
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Heart of a Dragon is a 2008 film produced by Thunder Bay Films Inc in Vancouver, Canada. The film was inspired by Rick Hansen's 1986 Man in Motion Tour's true story that challenged perceptions about disability. In the movie, Rick Hansen, a disabled athlete, attempts to prove the potential of people with disabilities and inspire a more accessible world by embarking on a 26-month journey that leads him to China and "The Great Wall."