Clara Hughes, a Canadian Olympic medalist and cyclist (and six-time medalist), is one of those people who always has her head up, is not afraid to do what she is best at, and is never going to give up. Growing up in Canada I was always quite impressed by how many gold medals Clara won at the Olympics. She’s also gone up against all sorts of misfortune, like depression and a brain injury, with grace.
Personal life
Clara Hughes: Canadian Olympic Athlete, Mother, and Advocate is a biography of the athlete Clara Hughes. Clara was born in 1975 in the town of Fort Mcmurray, Alberta Canada. She competed on both the track team and off-road bicycle team while she was attending Brigham Young University in Utah. Following completion in 1998, she fulfilled her duties to the Canadian National Team from 1998 through 2002 spending time as a forerunner for teammate Marianne Martin who would go on to win gold in the cross country skiing competition at Torino Italy’s Winter Olympics.
Clara Hughes is a Canadian cycling champion. In 2010, she became the third athlete in history to win five medals at a single Olympic game event and in 2008 she was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s top athlete. Clara lost her brother to suicide when she was 19 years old. Her parents divorced when she was young, and her mom developed multiple sclerosis which ended up killing her before Clara turned 18. Despite these numerous hardships Clara has achieved athletic success as well as a passion for advocating mental health. Clara currently works with Bell Let’s Talk and has become an advocate for mental illness and suicide awareness.
Biggest achievements
In her youth, Clara was a competitive speed skater who won three world championship titles. In 1994, she switched over to cycling and became an Olympic champion in 1996. She went on to win a silver medal in 2000 and another gold in 2004. She’s also the only person to have competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympics, as well as being the only Canadian athlete to win multiple medals at both.
Charity work
Her charity work includes raising awareness of mental health issues through her own experiences with depression, as well as promoting healthy eating and active living through partnerships with organisations like the Heart & Stroke Foundation and Kidsport Canada. In addition to winning medals and promoting mental health awareness, Clara is also heavily involved with charities that help people who are experiencing homelessness or suffering from addiction issues. In fact, many of her recent accomplishments have been connected to these causes: in 2018 she ran across Canada as part of a campaign called “Hope Runs,” which raised money for homeless shelters; she has also created a documentary about women who have struggled with addiction issues and had their lives saved by Narconon International Recovery Center; this year she became an ambassador for SADD Canada (Students Against Destructive Decisions), and last year she helped raise funds for the Toronto Women’s Shelter during its annual fund-raising gala event.
