Clara Hughes, Canada’s most celebrated Olympian, has won multiple Olympic medals in both Cycling and Speed skating.
Hughes won two bronze in the Summer Olympics in 1996 and four medals (one gold, one silver, two bronze) over the course of three Winter Olympics. She is tied with Cindy Klassen as the Canadian with the most Olympic medals, with six total medals.
The only person in the world to have won multiple medals in both the Summer and Winter Olympics, Hughes was the first Canadian woman to medal in road cycling at the Olympics, winning two in the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The Winnipeg-born Hughes moved to Hamilton in 1989 to train on the Niagara Escarpment – especially Sydenham Hill in Dundas – and credits her cycling success to this. On April 27, 2013, she returned to the area for the unveiling of a historical plaque at the top of Sydenham Hill.
Hughes 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.
Other Honours:
• Officer of the Order of Canada (2007)
• Order of Manitoba (2006)
• Speed Skating Canada Long Track Female Athlete of the Year (2004)
• International Olympic Committee’s Sport and Community Trophy (2006)
• List of Most Influencial Women in Sport and Physical Activity by the Canadian Association for Advancement of Women in Sport (CAAWS)
• Inducted Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame (2010)
• Received Star on Canada’s Walk of Fame (2010)
• Canadian Flagbearer at the Vancouver Winter Olympics (2010)