Clara Hughes

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Ms. Hughes started her sporting career with speed skating, but in 1990 she started competitive cycling. After track cycling, she switched to road cycling.

Hughes participated in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics, the 1991, 1995, and 1999 Pan American Games in 1991 and the 1994 and 2002 Commonwealth Games. She won two bronze medals at the Olympics in Atlanta, in the individual road race and the individual time trial.

In the 2000/2001 season, Hughes made a successful comeback to speed skating, resulting in participating in the World Single Distance Championships in Salt Lake City, where she finished 11th at the 3000 m.

The following season, she qualified for the 2002 Winter Olympics. After placing 10th in the 3000 m, she surprisingly won the bronze medal in the 5000 m, just ahead of compatriot Cindy Klassen[?]. With this performance, she became the second speed skater to win medals in the both the Games of the Olympiad and the Olympic Winter Games - Christa Rothenburger[?] won a gold in the 1000 m and a silver in the cycling sprint in 1988.