Statues unveiled to honour Terry Fox in his hometown of Port Coquitlam, B.C.

Port Coquitlam unveils Terry Fox sculpture for 45th anniversary of the Terry Fox Run, Sept. 13. (Courtesy: Lisa King/ TwinLens Photography)

The presence of inspirational athlete and humanitarian Terry Fox felt particularly omnipresent in his B.C. hometown of Port Coquitlam Saturday afternoon as two new sculptures, celebrating the icon’s enduring legacy, were unveiled to the public.

Officials, community members and friends and family of Terry Fox gathered at the plaza in front of Port Coquitlam’s community centre as the city ushered in the art piece, created by Spanish artist Casto Solano to commemorate 45 years of the legend’s Marathon of Hope.

“We had a very good turnout, hundreds and hundreds of people,” said Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West, describing an “energy in the crowd” Saturday afternoon that was palpable.

“There’s nothing our community is more proud of than being the hometown of Terry Fox.”

Gateway of Giants, a piece comprising two sculptures that depict Fox in both a runners pose and as a young Port Coquitlam boy - a schoolbook in one hand and a baseball in the other - diverts from the more famous portrayal of Fox, mid-marathon in 1980.

The decision to step away from the iconic image of Fox, mid-movement with his prosthetic leg and ‘Marathon of Hope’ emblazoned white t-shirt, was to ensure the new pieces were unique and memorable, and highlighted the importance Fox held as a member of the local community even before he became a national icon, says West.

“We wanted to do something a bit different. Terry loved running, and he was very competitive in running in our community growing up,” the mayor said.

Sculptor Solano said he knew when creating the piece that the finished product needed to “traverse time,” connecting Terry’s youth in Port Coquitlam with his later life and achievements.

“So the concept of dual sculptures, bridging this time in physical space, crystalized very quickly,” he said.

The two sculptures, placed along the walkway that leads to the entrance of the community centre, serve as welcoming figures to its Terry Fox: Inspiring Local Champions exhibit, which opened in April.

The exhibit encourages visitors to learn about his early life in Port Coquitlam in addition to his momentous feats running across the country and raising millions for cancer research. It includes Fox’s spare prosthetic leg, an Adidas running shoe, a Marathon of Hope t-shirt, and items from his school years.

West says it is an “incredible honour” to be embedded within a community Fox once was, and with that comes a “special responsibility” to ensure the athlete’s story is told to the next generation.

He encourages community members to take their children to the artworks and connect with them over tales of the iconic figure, describing how he has had similar conversations with his own children, and that they have been some of “the most meaningful, profound” discussions they have shared.

“We talked about how we all have the ability to go and make a difference in the world, and I think that that’s the message of Terry Fox,” he says.

“If you are committed, if you persevere, overcome obstacles, you can do incredible things, and we all have that within us.”

The annual Terry Fox Hometown Run fundraiser will kick off in Port Coquitlam on Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Hyde Creek Recreation Centre on Laurier Avenue, with registration opening at 8 a.m.

The event is one of many Terry Fox runs set to take place across the country.