By Jason Schwartz
It was in 1996 that six-time Olympic medalist Clara Hughes unknowingly fell into a deep depression. She had won her first few cycling medals in the 1996 Summer Olympics. She’d cry and not know why. She trained to be in the best shape of her life and yet she did not have desire to race her bike again.
Hughes was a very unique athlete. She did not represent Canada in just one sport; she was both a cyclist and a speed skater. Both are two vastly different sports. Speed skating is a landmark event of the winter Olympics, and cycling is a mainstay event of the Summer Olympics. A hybrid athlete the magnitude of a Clara Hughes is unprecedented. Despite her accomplishments, her depression still got the best of her during the early years of competitive training. Hughes felt isolated, and tired all day. She felt over trained and unhappy. She worries other athletes may go along this same path. Thankfully Hughes did not fully succumb to the tenacious tendencies of depression, and has been such a success at the Olympics for Canada that she was inducted into the Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
Hughes is now content as Canada’s spokesperson for mental health awareness, and is a prominent public figure for Bell’s annual “Let’s Talk” campaign. She has become well educated about how mental health issues have pervaded the nation and hopes to reduce stigma one day at a time.
Christie, J. (2012, February 07). Clara Hughes conquers the dark weight of depression. The Globe and Mail . Retrieved from http:// www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/ moresports/clara -hughes-conquers-the-dark-weight-of-depression/ article4239722/
