Clara Hughes

Summer & Winter Olympic Medalist

Clara Hughes is one of the biggest stories to ever emerge in Canadian sports. A double Olympic bronze medallist in cycling at the 1996 Olympic Summer Games, a bronze medallist in speed skating at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, followed by gold and silver in the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics and her recent bronze medal in the gruelling 5000m race in the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Clara is the only athlete in Olympic history to win multiple medals in both winter and summer Games.

After winning gold in 2006, Clara donated $10,000 of her own money to the Right to Play programs, in turn raising over half a million dollars for the international humanitarian organization. She also donated her $10,000 medal bonus money to the Vancouver inner city school program called 'Take a Hike' which uses adventure based learning to give youth at risk a better direction in life. Most recently, Clara took part in hockey programs in Nunavik, Quebec, encouraging Inuit youth to stay in school and connect with her love of sport.

Clara is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Member of the Order of Manitoba, holds honorary doctorates of Law from the University of Manitoba and the University of British Columbia and won the International Olympic Committee's 'Sport and the Community' award for her commitment to promoting the values of sport and play around the world. She is also an avid adventurer and enjoys bike touring and mountain climbing with her husband, Peter.

Hughes made her debut as a CBC Sports analyst for the track, road, and mountain bike events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

She was given the great honour of being the Canadian flagbearer for the 2010 Vancouver Games Opening Ceremony. The 2010 Games were her last as an athlete, and she has now retired from the world of competitive sport to dedicate her time to sharing the 'lessons learned' and her passion for sport.

Topics:

Motivation
Perseverance
Determination
Leadership

References:

"Words cannot describe how much we were fascinated and literally "blown away" by Clara. She is extremely warm, engaging, articulate and her speech was phenomenal and inspiring." Skate Canada

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Clara Hughes

Summer & Winter Olympic Medalist

Clara Hughes speaker video