Clara Hughes will speak at Thompson Rivers University Nov. 20.
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November 11, 2014 - 2:27 PM
KAMLOOPS - Clara Hughes, a mental health advocate and six-time Olympic medal winner in speed skating and cycling, will be speaking at Thompson Rivers University next week as as part of the President’s Lecture Series.
Hughes’ speech, in which she will talk about her own experience with struggling with depression, will be held Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. in the Grand Hall of the Campus Activity Centre. Admission is free, but seating is limited. The talk will also be broadcast to the Williams Lake campus, Room 1303.
Hughes is the only Canadian to have won medals in both the Summer and the Winter Olympics. In the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, she received two bronze medals in cycling and over the course of three Winter Olympic Games, she received four medals — one gold, one silver, and two bronze — in speed skating. In addition, she served as the Canadian flag bearer for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games’ opening ceremony and represented Canada with distinction at the London Summer Olympic Games in 2012, before retiring.
It's the actions off the playing field and the reaching out to others that defines success, according to Hughes. This personal philosophy was the incentive for “Clara’s Big Ride.” Her 110-day national bicycle tour through every province and territory in Canada was a campaign designed to end the stigma of mental health issues. Beginning in Toronto in March and ending in Ottawa on July 1, 2014, she covered 12,000km and spoke in 95 communities along the way.
In recognition of her accomplishments as an athlete and humanitarian efforts advocating for mental health, the university will award Clara Hughes with an Honorary Doctor of Letters prior to her her lecture.
In addition to her appearance at the university, she will meet with local mental health organizations, as well as the local speed skating and cycling club. Prior to her speech she will also be participating in the WolfPack’s walk/run for mental health awareness at 2:30 p.m. in front of Old Main.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infonews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
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