Monday, December 22, 2008

Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox



Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox, CC (July 28, 1958 – June 28, 1981) was a Canadian humanitarian, athlete, and cancer treatment activist. He is considered one of Canada's greatest heroes of the 20th century.
Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and was raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada. After losing his leg at age 18 to osteogenic sarcoma, the young athlete decided to run from coast to coast in order to raise money for cancer research. Beginning by dipping his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean at St. John's, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980, he aimed to dip it again in the Pacific Ocean at Vancouver, British Columbia. His pace was daunting. He ran an average of 42 km a day — the distance of a typical marathon. The Guinness Book of World Records lists Rick Worley as the marathon record holder: he ran 200 straight marathons, but over 159 consecutive weekends, not days. No one had ever done anything similar to the task Fox was undertaking.

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