The Vancouver 2010 Terry Fox Award was awarded to Olympic athletes who embodied

Terry Fox Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, having had one leg amputated due to cancer, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for can ...

's values of determination and humility in the face of adversity. It was created for the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Vancouver, British Columbia 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 cit ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The Vancouver Olympic Committee collaborated with Fox's parents, Betty and Rolly, to create the award. Fox's parents presented the awards to

Joannie Rochette Joannie Rochette (born January 13, 1986) is a Canadian physician and retired competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic bronze medallist, the 2009 World silver medallist, the 2008 and 2009 Four Continents silver medallist, the 2004 Gr ...

and

Petra Majdič Petra Majdič (born 22 December 1979) is a Slovenian former cross-country skier. Her best results came in classic style races. She won twenty-four World Cup races, twenty in sprint races, but she also won a marathon (30 km race) in Trondh ...

on February 27, 2010. The award is a nickel and wooden tray depicting the path of Fox's 1980 Marathon of Hope run across Canada to raise funds for cancer research.{{dl, date=April 2023 The words: "I want to set an example that will never be forgotten. —Terry Fox" are written on the tray in English and French. Rochette is a Canadian

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

whose mother, Therese, died suddenly on February 21, 2010, of a massive heart attack, just hours after she and Rochette's father, Normand, arrived in Vancouver and two days before the women's short program. Despite emotional turmoil, she went on to win bronze in Ladies' Figure Skating. Majdič is a

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

n cross-country skier who continued competing despite suffering four broken ribs and a collapsed lung as a result of a crash during training before the individual classical sprint on February 17, 2010. She fell on a sharp curve and tumbled off the course, then slid on her back down a three-metre slope and onto some rocks. Despite obvious physical pain, she went on to win bronze in the Ladies' Individual Sprint Classic. She needed help stepping onto the podium due to her injuries. The selection committee, that included Fox's brother, Darrell, sportscaster

Brian Williams Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is an American journalist and television news anchor. He was a correspondent for ''NBC Nightly News'' starting in 1993, before his promotion to anchorman, anchor and managing editor of the broadcast in ...

, former-Olympian and

VANOC The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) () was the non-profit organization responsible for planning, organizing, financing and staging the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Paralympics. Esta ...

board member

Charmaine Crooks Charmaine Crooks (born August 8, 1962), is a Canadian businesswoman, sports executive, and retired sprinter and middle-distance runner. Crooks was born in Mandeville, Jamaica, but represented Canada for close to 20 years in athletics. She ...

and former rower

Tricia Smith Tricia Catherine Marjorie Smith (born April 14, 1957) is a Canadian lawyer and Olympic rower who was elected president of the Canadian Olympic Committee. She sits on the International Council of Arbitration for Sport. Biography Smith was born i ...

, originally planned to choose only one recipient but felt both athletes' stories were so compelling that they decided to honour both.

References

2010 Winter Olympics Terry Fox Awards established in 2010