Rick Hansen

A hero is a person who puts someone else's priority before his. A hero is also a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine quality. Rick Hansen was an ordinary 15 year old teenager when he got into a horrible, tragic truck accident that paralyzed him from the waist down. Rick Hansen did amazing things to help people with spinal cord injuries.

Rick Hansen was born on August 26, 1957 at Port Alberni, British Columbia. He also went to British Columbia University. When Rick was still a young teenager, he wanted to become a world class wheelchair marathoner and Paralympic athlete. A few years later, his dream came true. He competed in wheelchair racing at both in the 1980 and the 1984 summer Paralympics, winning a total of three gold, two silver and one bronze medal. Hansen won 19 international wheelchair marathons, including the world championship.

Hansen had to learn to live without using his legs. He had to learn practically everything again. Hansen married Amanda Reid, his former physiotherapist. They have three daughters: Emma, Alana and Rebecca, and live in Richmond, British Columbia. Hansen doesn't let any obstacle get in his way. Rick Hansen displays many positive character traits. He shows optimism because he believes that he can raise money for spinal cord injuries by going around the world for spinal cord research. Hansen respects others and he's grateful to everybody. Everyone loves him for who he is and what he did for the people with spinal cord injuries.

Terry Fox, the athlete who ran through Canada to raise money for cancer research, inspired Rick Hansen. Because of Terry Fox, Hansen wanted to ride his wheelchair all over the world to raise money for people with spinal cord injuries. Rick inspires people that you should never give up when something puts you down.

He started his ride in Oak Ridge Mall in Vancouver, Canada on March 21, 1985. He rode 40,000 kilometers during his Man in Motion tour. He went to 34 countries and crossed Canada. It took Rick 26 months to complete his tour. He raised over 26 million dollars for spinal cord research. He has a foundation that helps people with finding help if they have an injury