Rick Hansen#Man in Motion World Tour
{{Short description|Canadian track and field athlete (born 1957)}}
{{for|the member of the Minnesota House of Representatives|Rick Hansen (politician)}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2024}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=March 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Rick Hansen
| image = RHansen2014.jpg
| caption = Hansen in 2014
| birth_name = Richard Marvin Hansen
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1957|8|26}}
| birth_place = Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = Canadian
| other_names =
| occupation = Disability activist, former paralympian
| spouse = {{marriage|Amanda Reid|1987}}
| country = {{CAN}}
| sport = Track and Field
| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Competition|Paralympic Games}}
{{Medal|Gold | 1980 Arnhem | 800 m 4 }}
{{Medal|Gold | 1984 Stoke Mandeville | 1500 m 4 }}
{{Medal|Gold | 1984 Stoke Mandeville | Marathon 4 }}
{{Medal|Silver| 1980 Arnhem | 1500 m 4 }}
{{Medal|Silver| 1984 Stoke Mandeville | 5000 m 4 }}
{{Medal|Bronze| 1980 Arnhem | 4×100 m relay 2–5 }}
}}
Richard Marvin Hansen {{post-nominals|CC|OBC}} (born August 26, 1957) is a Canadian track and field athlete (Paralympic Games and Olympic Games), activist, and philanthropist for people with disabilities. When Rick was 15, he was riding in the back of a pickup truck after a fishing trip with his friend, when the driver lost control and the vehicle rolled over. Hansen was trapped on the inside of the roll and thrown to the ground, along with the equipment from the truck. As a result of the crash, Hansen broke his back, sustained a spinal cord injury and became paralyzed from the waist down.
Hansen is most famous for his Man In Motion World Tour, in which he circled the globe in a wheelchair to demonstrate the potential of people with disabilities if barriers were removed and to raise money to support the removal of additional barriers for people with disabilities in the future. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.[http://www.sportshall.ca/hall-of-famers/hall-of-famers-search.html?proID=329 Rick Hansen], Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 3, 2021. He was one of the final torchbearers in the 1988 Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics.{{cite web|last=Sherlock|first=Tracy|url=https://vancouversun.com/news/canadas-man-in-motion-kicks-off-party-in-richmond|title=Canada's Man in Motion kicks off party in Richmond|work=The Vancouver Sun|date=February 10, 2010|access-date=March 3, 2021}} He was profiled and spoke during the 2010 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony.{{cite web|url=https://toronto.citynews.ca/2010/03/13/canadian-heroes-fox-hansen-invoked-to-open-2010-paralympics/|title=Canadian heroes Fox, Hansen invoked to open 2010 Paralympics|publisher=CityNews|date=March 13, 2010|access-date=September 5, 2015}} CTV News Special: Rick Hansen: Unbreakable 50 Years Later aired on Dec 2, 2023 featuring interviews with Hansen and Sandie Rinaldo, along with exclusive footage of Hansen returning to the site of the accident in Williams Lake for the first time. The event marked 50 years since he sustained his spinal cord injury.{{Cite web |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/sandie-rinaldo-rick-hansen-marks-the-50th-anniversary-of-his-life-changing-accident-by-visiting-the-scene-1.6668132|access-date=2024-11-18|first=Sandie|last=Rinaldo|date=December 7, 2023|title=Sandie Rinaldo: Rick Hansen marks the 50th anniversary of his life-changing accident by visiting the scene |website=www.ctv.ca}}
Early life
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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rickhansen.com/about-rick/ricks-story|title = Rick's Story | Rick Hansen Foundation}}
On June 27, 1973, Hansen and a friend were coming back from a fishing trip and riding in the back of a pickup truck when the driver lost control of the vehicle and rolled. The impact threw Hansen and his friend from the vehicle, resulting in a spinal injury that left Hansen paralyzed from the waist down.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/rick-hansen|title = Rick Hansen | the Canadian Encyclopedia}}
He worked on rehabilitation, completed high school, and in 1976 he enrolled at the University of British Columbia, and became the first student with a physical disability to graduate with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1986 from the university.{{Cite web |title=UBC School of Kinesiology Alumni Spotlight: Rick Hansen |url=https://kin.educ.ubc.ca/rick-hansen/ |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=kin.educ.ubc.ca}} Hansen won national championships on wheelchair volleyball and wheelchair basketball teams. In 1977, Hansen recruited Terry Fox to join the Vancouver Cable Cars to play on their wheelchair basketball team. The two became good friends.{{Cite web |title=Rick's Story {{!}} Rick Hansen Foundation |url=https://www.rickhansen.com/about-rick/ricks-story |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=www.rickhansen.com |language=en}}
Hansen went on to become a world-class champion wheelchair marathoner and Paralympic athlete. He competed in wheelchair racing, winning a total of six medals: three gold, two silver, and one bronze. Hansen won 19 international wheelchair marathons, including three world championships. He also coached high school basketball and volleyball. Hansen had a very close relationship with his family, especially with his brother, father and grandfather, with whom he enjoyed frequent fishing trips.
Man in Motion World Tour
File:Statue of Rick Hansen at Rogers Arena.jpg
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 the way Canadians decided to reframe disability by Fox's demonstration of ability, Hansen decided he also wanted to make a difference by applying his athletic talent on his Man In Motion World Tour to demonstrate the potential of people with disabilities if barriers were removed and to inspire a more accessible world.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
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 through 34 countries on four continents (North America, Europe, Oceania, and Asia) before crossing Canada. One of the highlights of the Tour was wheeling up the Great Wall of China. His highest summit was in the Swiss Alps at 5,577 ft (1700 metres). Each wheeling day, he averaged 12 to 14 hours of wheeling and 85 km a day. He returned to Vancouver's BC Place Stadium to cheering crowds of 50,000 well-wishers on May 22, 1987. Hansen and his team raised $26 million for the removal of barriers for people with disabilities. The Tour also helped to change the way people with disabilities are perceived.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
On May 22, 2017, Rick Hansen donated one of his well-used gloves from the Tour to the Canadian Museum of History.{{Cite web |title=Media Centre, Recent News |url=https://www.historymuseum.ca/for-professionals/media-centre |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=Canadian Museum of History |language=en-US}} The glove is on display in the Museum's signature exhibition, the Canadian History Hall, alongside an image from Hansen's Man In Motion World Tour visit to the Great Wall of China in April 1986.
On May 17, 2020, the Canadian Museum of History announced the acquisition of the Rick Hansen Man In Motion World Tour Collection.{{Cite web |title=Rick Hansen Man In Motion World Tour Collection |url=https://www.historymuseum.ca/digital-on-demand/rick-hansen-man-in-motion-world-tour-collection |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=Canadian Museum of History |language=en-US}} Spanning Hansen's early athletic career and life on Tour, the collection includes 1,700 artifacts and thousands of behind-the-scenes videos, photographs and documents.{{Cite web |title=Search the Collection {{!}} Canadian Museum of History |url=https://www.historymuseum.ca/collections/?type=all&q1=all::_contains::rick%20hansen&sort=title&order=asc&view=grid&size=24&page=1 |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=www.historymuseum.ca}} The collection was donated by Rick Hansen. The Rick Hansen Gallery located in the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum features a small selection of memorabilia from Hansen's Tour including one of his wheelchairs, competitive wheelchair marathon medals and video footage.
The song "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" was inspired by Rick Hansen's Man In Motion World Tour, and written 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.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
Post-tour career
File:Rick Hansen arrives with Olympic flame at 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony.jpg during the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony]]
File:Rick Hansen Paralympics 2010.jpg during the 2010 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony]]
Hansen is the founder of the Rick Hansen Foundation, which has generated more than $394 million to heighten awareness, change attitudes and advance the quality of life for people with disabilities.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
=Rick Hansen Foundation=
The Rick Hansen Foundation was established in 1988, as a legacy to 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 over 35 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 are living to their full potential. Through programs, collaboration and leadership, the Foundation continues to remove both physical and attitudinal barriers, and improve the quality of life for people with disabilities, which include the cure and care of people living with spinal cord injuries (SCI).
The Foundation operates two major programs. The Rick Hansen Foundation School Program educates and empowers youth from Kindergarten to Grade 12 to become accessibility and inclusion champions. The Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification (RHFAC) program provides a range of accessibility training courses, and rates and certifies sites on their level of meaningful accessibility for people of varying abilities.
Every year, starting on the last Sunday in May, Canadians celebrate National AccessAbility Week (NAAW).{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Employment and Social Development |date=2017-05-25 |title=National AccessAbility Week: May 26 to June 1, 2024 |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/campaigns/national-accessability-week.html |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=www.canada.ca}} Founded as “National Access Awareness Week"{{Cite web |title=National AccessAbility Week {{!}} Rick Hansen Foundation |url=https://www.rickhansen.com/NAAW |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=www.rickhansen.com |language=en}} in 1988, and inspired by Hansen's Man In Motion World Tour, this week is an opportunity to celebrate Canadians with disabilities and raise awareness of the critical need for accessibility and inclusion in communities and workplaces. 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.
= Spinal cord injury research =
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 interdisciplinary research centre focused on spinal cord injury. 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.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
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 Praxis Spinal Cord Institute (formerly the Rick Hansen Institute).{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
The building integrates both SCI research with care.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
= Other initiatives =
Hansen is a supporter of the conservation of Fraser River White sturgeon and Pacific Salmon. He has served as chair for the Founding Chair of both Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society (FRSCS) and the Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund Society, helping to restore and protect sturgeon and salmon populations in British Columbia. Hansen contributed to the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society with the money earned from the book Tale of the Great White Fish. He continues to support the FRSCS and the Pacific Salmon Foundation.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}File:Canadian Paralympian Rick Hansen (August 2008).jpg
Professional background
- Founder, Rick Hansen Foundation (2018–present){{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
- President and CEO, Rick Hansen Foundation (1997–2018){{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
- Consultant on Disability Issues to the President, University of British Columbia (1989–1991){{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
- Commissioner General to Canada Pavilion at World Exposition '88 in Brisbane, Australia (1987–1988){{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
Awards and honours
- Professional Sports Achievement Award, Pan Am Clinic Foundation (2018)
- Jack Diamond Sports Personality of the Year Award, Jewish Community Centre (2017)
- Senate 150th Anniversary Medal, The Senate (2017)
- Social Impact Award, Doha GOAL Foundation (2015)
- Recognition of Achievement Award, Excellence Canada (2013)
- Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012)[DT1]
- Recipient of CPA Alberta's Christopher Reeve Award (2007)
- Canada's Walk of Fame (2007)
- William Van Horne Visionary Award, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (2006)
- Induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (2006)
- Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Commemorative Medal, Governor General of Canada (2002)[DT2]
- Athlete of the Century, BC Wheelchair Sports (2000)
- Royal Bank Award (1994)
- University of British Columbia Athletic Hall of Fame (1994)
- Terry Fox Hall of Fame (1993)
- 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal, Governor General of Canada (1992)
- Order of British Columbia (1990){{Cite web |last=Secretariat |first=Intergovernmental Relations |title=Members of the Order of British Columbia: F–H |url=https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/celebrating-british-columbia/honours-and-awards/order-of-bc/members/f-h |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=www2.gov.bc.ca}}
- Freedom of the City Award, City of Vancouver (1987)
- W.A.C. Bennett Award, BC Sports Hall of Fame (1987)
- Newsmaker of the Year, Canadian Press (1986)
- Outstanding Young Person of the World for personal improvement and accomplishment by Junior Chamber International (1983)
- University of British Columbia's Alumni Award of Distinction (1983)
- Athlete of the Week: by ABC Wide World of Sports (1983)
- Lou Marsh Trophy, auxiliary award of special merit winner – co-winner with Wayne Gretzky(1982)
- Special Achievement Award, University of British Columbia (1979–1982)
- "Outstanding Athlete of the Year," by Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association (1980)
- Newsmaker of the Year by Canadian Press (1986)
- UBC Sports Hall of Fame
- People in Motion, a not-for-profit organization was named after Hansen
- Four 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
- Rick Hansen Public School, Aurora, Ontario
=Order of Canada=
Hansen was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada on June 29, 1987. His citation reads:{{Cite web |title=Mr. Richard M. Hansen |url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-8034 |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=The Governor General of Canada |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Order of Canada |url=http://archive.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=718}}
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.
Honorary appointments
- Honorary Director, Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation (2002)
- Honorary Board member, Think First Foundation (1998–2000)
- Honorary Chair, Brain and Spinal Cord Research Centre Campaign, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia (1995)
- Honorary Patron, B.C. Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (1995–Present)
- Honorary Chair, Grey Cup Festival (1994)
- Honorary Chair, Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability (1990–Present)
- Honorary Chair, Alberta Premier's Advisory Council for Persons with Disabilities (1989–Present)
- Honorary Chair, BC Premier's Advisory Council for Persons with Disabilities (1989–Present)
Hansen was named Commissioner General for the Canadian Pavilion at Expo '88 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Township named after Hansen
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.Ontario (1986) "c 52 Geographic Township of Hansen Act, 1986," Ontario: Annual Statutes: Vol. 1986, Article 59.
Available at:
Books
In 2017, Hansen collaborated with Jake MacDonald on Rick Hansen's Man In Motion World Tour, a book celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Tour. He is also 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 is also the inspiration for four children's books, Boy in Motion, Roll On, Tale of a Great White Fish: A Sturgeon Story and The Boy Who Loved to Move.
Personal life
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 and grandchildren.{{cite news|title=Flashback Friday: Man in Motion tour ends after two gruelling years|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/article/flashback-friday-man-in-motion-tour-ends-after-two-gruelling-years|publisher=CTV News|date=May 22, 2015|access-date=May 18, 2025}}{{cite news|title=Paraplegic Rick Hansen Proves a Wheelchair Is No Handicap with a 25,000-Mile Marathon|url=https://people.com/archive/paraplegic-rick-hansen-proves-a-wheelchair-is-no-handicap-with-a-25000-mile-marathon-vol-27-no-17/|work=People|volume=27|issue=17|date=April 27, 1987|access-date=March 3, 2021}}[https://www.rickhansen.com/About-Us/About-Rick/Ricks-Life-Passions Rick's Life Passions]
Honours
=Commonwealth honours=
=Scholastic=
; Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships
| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Location ! style="width:20%;"| Date ! style="width:40%;"| School ! style="width:20%;"| Position | |||
| {{Flagu|British Columbia}} | March 3, 2021{{spaced ndash}}Present | Douglas College | Honorary Fellow{{cite web |title=Douglas College names Paralympic medalist and Canadian icon Rick Hansen as 2021 Honorary Fellow |url=https://www.douglascollege.ca/news-events/2021/mar/douglas-college-names-paralympic-medalist-and-canadian-icon-rick-hansen-2021 |website=Douglas College |access-date=3 April 2022 |language=en}} |
; Honorary Degrees
Honorary military appointments
| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Military Branch ! style="width:20%;"| Date ! style="width:40%;"| Regiment ! style="width:20%;"| Position | |||
| {{flagicon|CAN|army}} Canadian Army | May 22, 2012{{spaced ndash}}2015 | Canadian Forces Joint Personnel Support Unit | Honorary Colonel{{cite web |title=Rick Hansen Appointed Honorary Colonel of the Canadian Forces Joint Personnel Support Unit |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/news/archive/2012/05/rick-hansen-appointed-honorary-colonel-canadian-forces-joint-personnel-support-unit.html |website=Government of Canada |date=May 22, 2012 |access-date=4 April 2022 |language=en}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}Learn more about Rick Hansen and the Rick Hansen Foundation at www.rickhansen.com.
- {{Official website|http://www.rickhansen.com/}} – Rick Hansen Foundation
- [http://www.cbc.ca/archives/topic/rick-hansen-man-in-motion CBC Digital Archives – Rick Hansen: Man In Motion]
- {{IMDb name|1750842}}
- [http://www.rickhanseninstitute.org Praxis Spinal Cord Institute] – Previously the Rick Hansen Institute
{{Lou Marsh Trophy}}
{{Canadian Newsmaker of the Year}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Rick}}
Category:Activists from British Columbia
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Paralympics
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Paralympics
Category:Canadian activists with disabilities
Category:Canadian Disability Hall of Fame
Category:Canadian disability rights activists
Category:Canadian male wheelchair racers
Category:Canadian people of Norwegian descent
Category:Canadian philanthropists
Category:Canadian wheelchair users
Category:Companions of the Order of Canada
Category:Northern Star Award winners
Category:Medalists at the 1980 Summer Paralympics
Category:Medalists at the 1984 Summer Paralympics
Category:Members of the Order of British Columbia
Category:Paralympic bronze medalists for Canada
Category:Paralympic gold medalists for Canada
Category:Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
Category:Paralympic silver medalists for Canada
Category:Paralympic track and field athletes for Canada
Category:Sportspeople from Port Alberni
Category:People with paraplegia
Category:Track and field athletes from British Columbia
Category:University of British Columbia Faculty of Education alumni