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Jenya
04-10-2005, 07:44 PM
Canadian Dollar Coin Honours Terry Fox

CBC News (http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/03/14/terry-fox050314.html)

Monday March 14, 2005

BURNABY, BC - The inspirational one-legged runner who asked each Canadian to give a dollar to his Marathon of Hope has wound up 25 years later on the face of a $1 coin.

The Royal Canadian Mint unveiled the new Terry Fox coin at a ceremony at Simon Fraser University on Monday that was carried live on CBC Newsworld and as a webcast, and was shown to children in schools across the country.

The new dollar, which will go into general circulation on April 4, is the first Canadian coin to have the image of a Canadian on it. The Queen's image is on the obverse side.

Terry Fox was diagnosed with bone cancer in 1977, when he was 18 years old, and his right leg was amputated above the knee.

While he was recovering in hospital with other cancer patients, he decided to overcome his handicap and to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

Terry Fox started in St. John's on April 12, 1980 – running a marathon's length, 42 kilometres, almost every day as he passed through the Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario. After 143 days and 5,373 kilometres, he had to stop running outside of Thunder Bay because cancer appeared in his lungs. He died a few months later, aged 22.

Terry Fox's goal in the Marathon of Hope was to raise $22 million – $1 for every person then living in Canada. Since he started running, more than $360 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research in his name.

Terry Fox's brother Darrell, who was at the ceremony along with his parents and two other siblings, said Terry would have been overwhelmed and embarrassed by the coin.

He suggested that instead of calling it a loonie, Canadians should refer to the new coin as a Terry.


http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/pix/foxy_050314.jpg

Jenya
04-10-2005, 07:46 PM
I just got one of these dollars today. Pretty cool. :cool:

Zebra 3
04-10-2005, 08:10 PM
A truly great Canadian.

Pus$y Galore
04-10-2005, 08:26 PM
I just got one of these dollars today. Pretty cool. :cool:


Did you? I can't wait to get my hands on one. I voted Terry as Canada's Greatest Canadian. I'll never forget him! :)

crystals
04-11-2005, 03:07 AM
I haven't seen the new dollar coin yet. I also voted for Terry Fox as the geatest Canadian. Has anyone seen the film "The Terry Fox Story"? It is a biographical film of his life and how he got cancer and then started the run for cancer research. They portrayed him as a really grumpy person in the film, though. I don't know whether Terry was like that in real life or not, but other than that, it was a pretty good film.

Pus$y Galore
04-11-2005, 10:19 AM
I haven't seen the new dollar coin yet. I also voted for Terry Fox as the geatest Canadian. Has anyone seen the film "The Terry Fox Story"? It is a biographical film of his life and how he got cancer and then started the run for cancer research. They portrayed him as a really grumpy person in the film, though. I don't know whether Terry was like that in real life or not, but other than that, it was a pretty good film.


Yes, I've seen it several times and STILL sob at the end when they show him from behind running with "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" playing over it.
The movie was very accurate (taken from the book) and yes, Terry did get grumpy on the run - can you blame him though? Especially when the cancer had spread to his lungs - he ran for miles with the pain trying to put it behind him. He died a year to the day my father did, June 28, 1981.