Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958 – June 28, 1981) was a Canadian 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 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.
He could not finish his run, however, as the cancer spread to his lungs and he was forced to abandon the course near Thunder Bay after running over 5300 km over a course of 143 days straight through Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario. He died several months afterwards at the age of 22. However, his Marathon of Hope captured the nation's attention. He was proclaimed a national hero, and the annual Terry Fox Run events organized all across Canada, in the United States, and in other countries around the world, have raised more than $360-million for cancer research.
Fox's heroism has inspired other Canadians to similar feats in the name of charitable causes. This has included Steve Fonyo, another runner who also had a leg amputated due to cancer and who retraced the same route as Fox and then proceeded to complete the run to the west coast in the name of cancer research. A close friend of Fox's, Rick Hansen, a paraplegic athlete, was also inspired to make his own trek around the world in his wheelchair to raise funds for spinal injury research.
His story is dramatized in the HBO TV movie, The Terry Fox Story.
In a public opinion poll Terry Fox was voted the most famous Canadian of the 20th century. He was voted #2 of the The Greatest Canadian list.
Honours for Terry Fox
September 19, 1980 - At age 22, Terry Fox was made the youngest Companion of the Order of Canada in history for his outstanding contribution to the cause of cancer research.
October 21, 1980 - The Province of British Columbia's highest civilian award.
November 22, 1980 - The American Cancer Society awarded Terry Fox their highest honour.
December 18, 1980 - Sports editors from across Canada voted Terry Fox their annual award for his outstanding athletic accomplishment.
December 23, 1980 - The editors of Canadian Press member newspapers and the television and radio stations serviced by Broadcast News voted Terry Fox, Canadian of the Year.
June 6, 1981 - Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia issued a new medal in his honour to be awarded annually to a student showing courage in the face of adversity.
July 17, 1981 - The government of British Columbia named a 2,639-metre (8,658 foot) peak in the Rocky Mountains after him.
- Terry Fox Courage Highway
July 30, 1981 - The 83-kilometre (52 mile) section of the Trans-Canada Highway in Ontario where Terry Fox was forced to end his run, was re-named in his honour.
- Terry Fox Humanitarian Award
July 30, 1981 - The Canadian government created a $5 million endowment fund to provide annual scholarships to students who demonstrate the highest ideals and qualities of citizenship and humanitarian service while in pursuit of excellence in academic, sport, and community service endeavours.
- Canadian Sports Hall of Fame
August 29, 1981 - Terry Fox was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame .
April 13, 1982 - A Terry Fox Stamp was issued by Canada Post who broke with tradition that no commemorative stamp be issued until 10 years after the death of the honouree. On January 17, 2000, Terry Fox was honoured a second time on a Canadian postage stamp as part of the prestigious "Millennium Collection" recognizing influential and distinguished Canadians of the 20th century.
June 26, 1982 - A 2.7-metre (9 foot) bronze statue of Terry Fox was unveiled on the section of the Trans-Canada highway named for him.
- Terry Fox Secondary School
January 18, 1986 - Port Coquitlam Senior Secondary School renamed in honour of its 1976 graduate, Terry Fox. The original school has since become home to both a Christian Academy and French Immersion school. A new Terry Fox Secondary School was built several kilometres from the original site and opened in 1999.
- Note: Numerous other elementary and secondary schools have also been named after Terry Fox, since 1981.
1992 - The Canadian Coast Guard purchased a new heavy icebreaker and named it the CCGS Terry Fox.
June 30, 1999 - Terry Fox was voted Canada's Greatest Hero in a national survey conducted by the Dominion Institute and the Council for Canadian Unity.
2001 - Betty Fox, mother of Terry Fox and Honourary Chair of Terry Fox Foundation, was awarded an honorary degree from Simon Fraser University, where Terry Fox was a Kinesiology student and varsity basketball player when he was diagnosed with bone cancer.
April 4, 2005 - Up to 11 million Loonies designed by Stan Witten featuring Terry Fox went into general circulation. The coin commemorates the 25th anniversary of Fox's Marathon of Hope. Another 9 million will be minted for release in September, 2005 to mark the 25th anniversary of the annual Terry Fox Run. This is the first time the Royal Canadian Mint has ever featured a Canadian on a coin.
External links
Last updated: 08-18-2005 04:29:10
Last updated: 09-03-2005 18:37:12
