The Vancouver 2010 Terry Fox Award was awarded to Olympic athletes who embodied Terry Fox's values of determination and humility in the face of adversity. It was created for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

Fox's parents, Rolly and Betty, presented the awards to Joannie Rochette and Petra Majdič on February 27, 2010. The award is a nickel and wooden tray depicting the path of Fox's 1980 Marathon of Hope run across Canada to raise funds for cancer research. The words: "I want to set an example that will never be forgotten. —Terry Fox" are written on the tray in English and French.

Rochette is a Canadian figure skater whose mother, Therese, died suddenly on February 21, 2010, of a massive heart attack, just hours after she and Rochette's father, Normand, arrived in Vancouver and two days before the women's short program. Despite emotional turmoil, she went on to win bronze in Ladies' Figure Skating.

Majdič is a Slovenian cross-country skier who continued competing despite suffering four broken ribs and a collapsed lung as a result of a crash during training before the individual classical sprint on February 17, 2010. She fell on a sharp curve and tumbled off the course, then slid on her back down a three-metre slope and onto some rocks. Despite obvious physical pain, she went on to win bronze in the Ladies' Individual Sprint Classic. She needed help stepping onto the podium due to her injuries.

Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox CC OD, (July 28, 1958 – June 28, 1981) was a Canadian humanitarian, athlete, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Although the spread of his cancer eventually forced him to end his quest after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 mi), and ultimately cost him his life, his efforts resulted in a lasting, worldwide legacy. The annual Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, has grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is now the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research; over C$500 million has been raised in his name.

Fox was a distance runner and basketball player for his Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, high school and Simon Fraser University. His right leg was amputated in 1977 after he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, though he continued to run using an artificial leg. He also played wheelchair basketball in Vancouver, winning three national championships.

Jay Triano (born September 21, 1958) is a retired Canadian professional basketball player and former head coach of the NBA's Toronto Raptors. Triano gained recognition during his tenure as coach of the Canadian men's national team. He is also a former national team player, who competed in two Olympics, starting in 1984. He was born in Tillsonburg, Ontario and raised in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Triano is of Italian descent through his great-grandfather, who landed on Ellis Island, then made his way to Welland, Ontario. His younger brother Jeff was a draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft after playing OHL hockey for the Toronto Marlboros.

As a student at Simon Fraser University, Triano broke or equalled eleven school men's basketball records, including having the most career points with 2,616. He was drafted in the eighth round of the 1981 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, but never played in the NBA. The same year, he was also drafted by the Calgary Stampeders in the sixth round of the CFL Draft.