27 Facts About Rick Hansen

When Rick Hansen 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.

Rick Hansen was trapped on the inside of the roll and thrown to the ground, along with the equipment from the truck.

Rick 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 in the future for people with disabilities in the future.

Rick Hansen was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Rick Hansen was one of the final torchbearers in the 1988 Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Rick Hansen was profiled and spoke during the 2010 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony.

Rick Hansen had an active childhood, where he played volleyball, baseball, softball, and basketball.

Rick Hansen often spent time outdoors with his father and grandfather who took him fishing.

Rick Hansen 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.

Rick Hansen won national championships on wheelchair volleyball and wheelchair basketball teams.

In 1977, Rick Hansen recruited Terry Fox to join the Vancouver Cable Cars to play on their wheelchair basketball team.

Rick Hansen went on to become a world class champion wheelchair marathoner and Paralympic athlete.

Rick Hansen competed in wheelchair racing, winning a total of six medals; three gold, two silver, and one bronze.

Rick Hansen won 19 international wheelchair marathons, including three world championships.

Rick Hansen had a very close relationship with his family, especially with his brother, father and grandfather, with whom he enjoyed frequent fishing trips.

Rick Hansen made it from St John's, Newfoundland to Thunder Bay, Ontario before a cancer recurrence forced him to stop, about halfway through his journey.

Rick Hansen embarked on his Man In Motion World Tour on March 21,1985, from Oakridge Mall in Vancouver.

On May 22,2017, Rick Hansen donated one of his well-used gloves from the Tour to the Canadian Museum of History.

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 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.

Rick Hansen was noted as "the driving force" in the development of the 48 million dollars raised for the International Collaboration of Repair Discoveries, an interdisciplinary research centre focused on spinal cord injury.

Rick Hansen is a supporter of the conservation of Fraser River White sturgeon and Pacific Salmon.

Rick Hansen contributed to the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society with the money earned from the book Tale of the Great White Fish.

Rick Hansen continues to support the FRSCS and the Pacific Salmon Foundation.

Rick Hansen was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada on June 29,1987.

Rick Hansen was named Commissioner General for the Canadian Pavilion at Expo '88 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Rick Hansen is 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.