1. Clara Hughes was born on September 27,1972 and is a Canadian cyclist and speed skater who has won multiple Olympic medals in both sports.
26 Facts About Clara Hughes
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Clara Hughes is one of the few athletes who have competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympic games.
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Clara Hughes is one of only six people to have podium finishes in the Winter and Summer versions of the Games, and is the only person ever to have won multiple medals in both.
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Clara Hughes was the first Canadian woman to win a medal in road cycling at the Olympics, winning two in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
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Clara Hughes is involved with Right To Play, which is an athlete-driven international humanitarian organization that uses sports to encourage the development of youth in disadvantaged areas.
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Clara Hughes was named Female Athlete of the Year by Speed Skating Canada in 2004 for long track.
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Clara Hughes was then named to the 2006 List of Most Influential Women in Sport and Physical Activity by the Canadian Association for Advancement of Women and Sport.
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Clara Hughes was born in Winnipeg, and is a graduate of Elmwood High School.
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Clara Hughes was inspired to begin skating after witnessing Gaetan Boucher at the 1988 Winter Olympics.
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Clara Hughes started with speed skating, but in 1990 she moved to competitive cycling, competing in track cycling and road cycling.
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Clara Hughes started speed skating at the age of 16, and then took up the sport of cycling at the age of 17.
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Clara Hughes then returned to cycling, at the age of 38, to later successfully return for the 2012 London Olympics.
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Clara Hughes participated at the 1991,1995,1999 and 2003 Pan American Games and won eight Pan American Games medals.
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Clara Hughes participated in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics, winning two bronze medals at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, in the individual road race and the individual time trial.
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Clara Hughes served as a commentator for cycling events for the CBC's coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
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At the 2011 Pan American Championships, Clara Hughes won the individual time trial and road race, both by a big margin.
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Clara Hughes finished 32nd, with the peloton, in the road race and finished 5th in the road time trial at the 2012 Olympics.
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Clara Hughes became the fourth person and second woman to win medals at the Summer and Winter Games.
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Clara Hughes earned her fifth Olympic medal at the 2006 Games, tying the total all-time Canadian medal count record, held by Marc Gagnon and Phillip Edwards.
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Clara Hughes is the national spokesperson for the Bell Canada 'Let's Talk Mental Health' initiative, including Bell 'Let's Talk Day'.
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In 2015, a CTV-produced documentary Clara Hughes's Big Ride premiered on the fifth annual Bell Let's Talk Day.
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In 2008, Clara Hughes was named an in motion Champion by the province of Manitoba.
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On November 15,2010, Clara Hughes was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
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In 2014, Clara Hughes received the Loyola Medal from Concordia University.
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On June 30,2014, Clara Hughes was honoured with the Meritorious Service Cross.
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On June 14,2016, Clara Hughes was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of Victoria.