Clara Hughes, (born September 27, 1972) is a Canadian
cyclist
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...
and
speed skater
Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. ...
who has won multiple
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
medals in both sports. Hughes won two bronze in the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
and four medals (one gold, one silver, two bronze) over the course of three
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
humanitarian
Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...
Officer of the Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
. She is involved with Right To Play, which is an athlete-driven international humanitarian organization that uses sports to encourage the development of youth in disadvantaged areas. After winning her gold medal in 2006, she donated $10,000 to Right to Play.
Throughout her career Hughes received a number of other awards, trophies, and accolades. She was named Female Athlete of the Year by Speed Skating Canada in 2004 for long track. In 2006, she received the
's Sport and Community Trophy. She was then named to the 2006 List of Most Influential Women in Sport and Physical Activity by the Canadian Association for Advancement of Women and Sport (CAAWS). In the summer of the year 2010, it was announced that she would receive a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame and on November 15, 2010, she was inducted into
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
, and is a graduate of Elmwood High School. In an interview on
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
show ''
Definitely Not the Opera
''Definitely Not the Opera'' (or simply ''DNTO'') was a magazine-style radio program focusing on aspects of pop culture and storytelling, that aired on CBC Radio One on Saturday afternoons from 1994 until 2016. The show's running time varied ove ...
'', Hughes reveals that as a youth, she smoked cigarettes, drank a lot at a young age and did a lot of drugs, admitting she did not envision herself as an athlete. She was inspired to begin skating after witnessing
1988 Winter Olympics
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games (french: XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Calgary 1988 ( bla, MohkÃnsstsisi 1988; sto, Wîchîspa Oyade 1988 or ; cr, Otôskwanihk 1998/; srs, Guts†...
. She started with speed skating, but in 1990 she moved to competitive cycling, competing in
track cycling
Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles.
History
Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...
and
road cycling
Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes Recreational cycling, recreational, Road bicycle racing, racing, Bicycle commuting, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, ...
.
Hughes started speed skating at the age of 16, and then took up the sport of cycling at the age of 17. She would eventually return to the sport of speed skating at the age of 28, after achieving success in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. With her experience and endurance earned through cycling, Hughes went on to a successful career competing in the 3,000 m and 5,000 m. This would eventually lead her to medal in these long-distance events at the
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
. She then returned to cycling, at the age of 38, to later successfully return for the 2012 London Olympics.
Cycling
Hughes, an 18-time Canadian national cycling champion, won the silver medal at the 1995,
World Cycling Championships
The UCI world championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winne ...
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
, 1999 and
2003 Pan American Games
The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America.
Al ...
and won eight Pan American Games medals. A participant at the
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
,
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
and
2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...
, Hughes won gold in the time trial (road, 2002), bronze in the points race on the
velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate Track tran ...
(2002), and silver in the 50 km team time trial (1994, with Alison Sydor,
Anne Samplonius
Anne Samplonius (born 11 February 1968) is a road cyclist from Canada. She was born in the United States, has lived most of her life in Canada, and is a citizen of both countries. Samplonius graduated from the University of Alberta with a bachel ...
, and Lesley Tomlinson).
Hughes participated in the 1996 and
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, in the individual road race and the individual time trial. These were the second and the third ever medals in road cycling for Canada, after
Steve Bauer
Steven Todd Bauer, MSM (born June 12, 1959) is a retired professional road bicycle racer from Canada. He won the first Olympic medal in road cycling for Canada and until 2022 he was the only Canadian to win an individual stage of the Tour de Fr ...
's silver medal at the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
, and the first medals in cycling for a Canadian woman. As of 2011, these were the only three cycling medals for Canada.
A four-time participant of the women's
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
.
In November 2010, she announced a comeback, indicating her desire to race at the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. At the 2011 Pan American Championships, Hughes won the individual time trial and road race, both by a big margin. In May 2011, she took first in the
Tour of the Gila
The Tour of the Gila is a cycling stage race for both men and women located in New Mexico, United States. It is sponsored by the component maker SRAM. The "Gila" began in 1987. Beginning in 2012, the men's Gila has been added to the UCI Americ ...
, winning two stages. In July 2011, she finished first in the inaugural Crusher in the Tushar in Beaver, Utah. At the Chrono Gatineau time trials in May 2011, she finished first among an international slate of riders. In June 2012, she was selected to become part of Canada's 2012 London Olympics team, as one of four in cycling, with two other women and a man. She finished 32nd, with the peloton, in the road race and finished 5th in the road time trial at the 2012 Olympics.
Liberty Classic
The Liberty Classic was an annual women's bicycle race held from 1994 to 2012, simultaneously with the Philadelphia International Championship. The 57.6 mile race consisted of four laps of a 14.4 mile circuit through Philadelphia with 5 climbs up t ...
:1st National Time Trial Championships
;1998
:1st Stage 2 Tour de Snowy
;1999
:1st National Road Race Championships
;2000
:1st Stage 5
Redlands Bicycle Classic
The Redlands Bicycle Classic is a cycling stage race located in Redlands, California, United States that has been held since 1985. It consists of three road races, an individual time trial and a criterium
A criterium, or crit, is a bike race ...
:1st National Time Trial Championships
;2002
:1st Commonwealth Games Time Trial
;2011
:1st Pan American Championships Time Trial
:1st Pan American Championships Road Race
:1st La visite chrono du Gatineau
:1st National Time Trial Championships
;2012
:1st Stage 4b (TTT) Energiewacht Tour
:1st La visite chrono du Gatineau
:1st National Time Trial Championships
Long track speed skating
In the 2000/2001 season, Hughes made a successful comeback to
speed skating
Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marath ...
, participating in the
World Single Distance Championships
The World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships are a series of speed skating competitions organised by the International Skating Union.
History
Since the late 19th century, speed skating championships were always decided by racing multiple ...
in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
, where she finished 11th in the 3000 m.
The following season, she qualified for the
. After placing 10th in the 3000 m, she won the bronze medal in the 5000 m, just ahead of compatriot Cindy Klassen. With this, she became the second
speed skater
Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. ...
to win medals in the Summer and Winter Games —
Christa Luding-Rothenburger
Christa Luding-Rothenburger ( Rothenburger, born 4 December 1959) is a former speed skater and track cyclist. She was born in Weißwasser, East Germany. Luding is one of the few athletes who have competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympic G ...
won a gold in the 1000 m speed skating and silver in the 1000 m cycling sprint in 1988. She became the fourth person and second woman to win medals at the Summer and Winter Games. In 2006, she was the only Olympian to have won multiple medals at the Summer Games as well as at the Winter Games.
In
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, although she had not been asked, she announced she would not carry the
Canadian flag
The national flag of Canada (french: le Drapeau national du Canada), often simply referred to as the Canadian flag or, unofficially, as the Maple Leaf or ' (; ), consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of , in ...
Turin, Italy
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...
. At those Olympics, she won her first gold medal in the 5000 m and a silver medal in the team pursuit as part of the Canadian team. She earned her fifth Olympic medal at the 2006 Games, tying the total all-time Canadian medal count record, also held by
Marc Gagnon
Marc Gagnon (born May 24, 1975) is a Canadian former short track speed skater. He is a four-time Overall World Champion for 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1998, and winner of three Olympic gold medals.
Biography
Born in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Gagnon starte ...
and Phillip Edwards. Klassen set a new record in the same games, winning five medals in Turin, for a total of six.
Inspired by
Joey Cheek
William Joseph Cheek (born June 22, 1979) is an American former speed skater and inline speed skater. He specialized in the short and middle distances and won Olympic gold in 2006. Currently Cheek is a media entrepreneur.
Accomplishments
Cheek' ...
, who donated his gold medal bonus to Right to Play, Hughes donated $10,000 of her own money to Right to Play after her 2006 gold medal win in the 5000 m. (Canada did not give out medal bonuses at the time).
Hughes was also a
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
holder on 10,000 m track with 14:19.73 on March 13, 2007, on the
Olympic Oval
The Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is North America's first covered speed skating oval; it was built for the 1988 Winter Olympics and opened on September 27, 1987.Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
, which was beaten by
Martina SáblÃková
Martina SáblÃková () (born 27 May 1987) is a Czech speed skater, specializing in long track speed skating. She is an Olympic gold medal winner and a multiple European and World allround champion. She became the first Czech to win two Olym ...
one year later. However, that time is still the Canadian record.
On January 29, 2010, she was announced as the Canadian Flag Bearer for the
2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
in Vancouver. During the games she won a bronze medal in the 5,000 metres which was also the final Olympic speed skating race of her career. Her time of 6:55.73 became a new track record, though her time was soon beaten by Stephanie Beckert of Germany and gold medalist
Martina SáblÃková
Martina SáblÃková () (born 27 May 1987) is a Czech speed skater, specializing in long track speed skating. She is an Olympic gold medal winner and a multiple European and World allround champion. She became the first Czech to win two Olym ...
of the Czech Republic. This brought her career medals total to six, tying teammate Cindy Klassen as the Canadian athlete with the most medals.
Personal life
She is the National Spokesperson for the
Bell Canada
Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in t ...
'Let's Talk Mental Health' initiative, including Bell 'Let's Talk Day'. Hughes uses her past struggles with depression to relate to others and to help combat issues including the stigma involved with mental health issues. "Hughes battled deep depression, which threatened to derail her life, after winning two bronze medals in cycling at the 1996 Olympics." Since 2013, Hughes has initiated annual bike rides across Canada in order to raise awareness about mental health. In 2015, a CTV-produced documentary ''Clara's Big Ride'' premiered on the fifth annual Bell Let's Talk Day (a national mental health awareness day in Canada). Her memoir, ''Open Heart, Open Mind'', was published in 2015.
Personal bests
Current Canadian Record Former World Record
* All information from Speed Skating Canada records page and Clara Hughes's SSC profile
Honours
In 2006, she was awarded the Order of Manitoba, and in 2007, she was made a Member of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
.
On May 23, 2008, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law from the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
.
On April 7, 2010, she was made an officer of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
.
On June 8, 2010, it was announced that she would receive a star on
.
On September 23, 2010, she received an honorary degree from the University of New Brunswick in a special Toronto ceremony.
On November 15, 2010, Hughes was inducted into
.
On January 16, 2012, The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) announced Hughes as one of twenty women selected to the Most Influential Women in Sport and Physical Activity list (MIW) for 2011. The objective of the list is to focus on women who are leaders and role models making a difference on the Canadian or international scene. The women on the MIW are influential women who contributed in a significant way to sport and physical activity in the year 2011. This is Clara Hughes third time on the CAAWS Most Influential Women List.
On April 27, 2013, the steep hill on Sydenham Road in Dundas, Ontario on which she trained for seven years was officially renamed 'Clara's Climb'. There is a plaque there in her honour describing her training and accomplishments.
In 2014, Hughes received the Loyola Medal from
(Civil Division).
On January 29, 2015, the official opening ceremony was held for a school named after Hughes. Open since September 2014, the Clara Hughes Public School is located in
Oshawa
Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. At the ceremony, Hughes said, "It is without exception the greatest honour that I have in my life, to have my name here."
On June 14, 2016, Hughes was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law from the
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...
.
See also
*
List of Olympians who won medals in the Summer and Winter Games
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
Georgia Simmerling
Georgia Simmerling (born 11 March 1989) is a Canadian road and track cyclist, who currently competes for UCI Women's Team . Simmerling has also previously competed in alpine skiing and skicross, and is the first Canadian to compete in three dif ...
, Canadian female cyclist who competed at Summer and Winter Olympics
*
List of Canadian sports personalities
The following is a list of Canadians, Canadian sports personalities.
Olympic athletes
*Alex Baumann, Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, swimmer
*Josh Binstock (born 1981), volleyball player
*Patrick Chan, Ottawa
*Victor Davis, Guelph
*Andre De Grasse, ...