Around the world in wheelchair !

Richard Marvin Hansen, is a Canadian Paralympian and an activist for people with spinal cord injuries. Following a pick up truck accident at the age of 15, Hansen sustained a spinal cord injury that paralyzed him from the waist down. Hansen is most famous for his Man In Motion World Tour.

In 1980, fellow British Colombian and Canadian athlete Terry Fox, who had lost a leg to bone cancer, undertook the Marathon of Hope, intending to run across Canada to raise awareness for cancer research. Inspired by Terry's courage, Hansen decided to undertake a similar journey for spinal cord injury research. However, his planned path was far more ambitious; he planned to circle the world in his wheelchair.

He embarked on his Man in Motion World Tour on March 21, 1985 from the Oakridge Mall in Vancouver. Although public attention was low at the beginning of the tour, he soon attracted international media attention as he progressed on a 26-month trek, logging more than 40,000 km through 34 countries on four continents before crossing Canada. He returned to Vancouver's BC Place Stadium to thousands of cheering fans on May 22, 1987 after raising $26 million for spinal cord research and quality of life initiatives. Like Terry Fox, he was hailed as an international hero.

He was one of the final torchbearers in the 2010 Winter Olympics