Celebrating Rick Hansen’s Man in Motion Tour 25 years later
Posted March 20, 2010 5:56 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It was 25 years ago Rick Hansen kicked off a journey that sent him around the world in his wheelchair to raise awareness about spinal cord injuries. Now, more than two decades after that famous tour, the ‘Man in Motion’s’ fight continues.
Rick Hansen inspired millions around the world during the Man in Motion tour in the mid 1980s. The tour is credited with shedding light on the struggles people living with disabilities overcome.
However, it wasn’t easy for Hansen — at first. He says after his accident at the age of 15, his hopes and dreams in the sport world were shattered. “It was the community. It was the people who worked together that helped me come back again. It was the attitude I learned in sport that made me realize that I didn’t have to give up, that I could continue to set goals and be an athlete and still make a difference in the world.”
The 26-month tour saw Hansen travel over 40,000 kilometres in 34 countries across four continents before coming back to Canada where he started the event. From just that one tour he raised about $26 million and since then the Rick Hansen Foundation has raised more than $200 million. Hansen hopes the next 25 years will bring an end to spinal cord injuries.
