Terry Fox

Terry Fox lost his right leg to cancer in 1977. Undaunted, Fox went on to become a champion wheelchair basketball player and, in 1979, ran a marathon on his prosthetic leg. In 1980, Fox embarked on his Marathon of Hope, an ambitious plan to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. Fox soon became a national sensation, but his run ended prematurely when doctors discovered that his cancer had returned. He died nine months’ later, at age 22. In the decades since, the annual Terry Fox runs held around Canada have raised hundreds of millions of dollars for cancer research. Fox is now regarded as an iconic Canadian hero.