After Beijing Debut, Seattle Nurse Erin Martin Knows What to Expect at Her Second Paralympics as a Sit Skier

One of Erin Martin’s fondest memories from the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games came during a race that she didn’t come close to winning. 

Competing at her first Winter Paralympics, Martin was one of the last sit skiers to cross the finish line during the women’s middle-distance race in Zhangjiakou, China. However, as she came down the stretch, she realized she wasn’t alone on the course. 

Fellow American sit skiers Oksana Masters, Kendall Gretsch and Lera Doederlein had finished the race before Martin was done skiing, with Masters winning the silver medal. Instead of leaving to go catch their breath, the three teammates waited for Martin at the finish line so they could share the moment with her and celebrate as a group. 

“I still think about that and how meaningful that was to me and how lucky I feel to be part of such a supportive team,” said Martin, 39, who is also a registered nurse in her hometown of Seattle. “This is such an individual sport, but the teamwork that goes on behind the scenes is so important. It’s part of what makes this sport so special, and I think that moment was a really awesome example of that.” 

Four years after making her Paralympic debut in Beijing, Martin has arrived in Italy knowing a lot more of what to expect when she competes at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Paralympics, which run March 6-15. She has a better sense of how the races will be set up and how to deal with all the outside distractions that come with competing on the world’s largest stage. 

Martin said one of her main goals over the next few weeks is to simply enjoy herself and soak it all in — something she had difficulty doing in Beijing while constantly worried about testing positive for the coronavirus. 

“It definitely helps that this is my second Paralympics. After having been through the Paralympics before, it’s nice to know that it’s just another race really,” Martin said. “Ultimately, the format of the races, how the races play out, the course, all of that stuff is the same as any other world cup. There’s just a little bit more, I think, celebration around the Paralympics. The fact that my friends and family will be there as well as being able to watch me on TV changes the dynamics just a little bit.” 

Martin said she plans to compete in four events at Milano Cortina — two cross-country skiing races and two biathlon races. She’s already familiar with the course in Val di Fiemme, Italy, where the Para Nordic skiing events will be held, after competing at a world cup there a year ago. That should be an advantage for her. 

“It’s always easier to go back to a place that’s familiar than to learn and adapt to a new place,” Martin said. “Having been exposed to the terrain last year gives me an opportunity to run through it through visualization as well, which I’ve been doing to prepare.” 

Martin, who became paralyzed from the mid-chest down during a climbing accident, only began Para Nordic skiing in 2019. After going to the Beijing Games as a relative newcomer to the sport, she said she’s developed into a more disciplined athlete. She has established a race routine that works for her, and she has a new bucket for her sit ski that has come from several years of trial and error. 

Martin said the new bucket makes many technical aspects of skiing, including maneuvering and climbing steeper terrains, easier for her. She has also adjusted this winter to racing while not feeling at full strength. 

“This season I’ve had some illness and health issues before my races, and so I have had some good learning through that,” Martin said. “But really my main goal is to do everything I can to put together some really good races, and hopefully that will reflect in the results. But my ultimate goal is very much focused on the process.” 

Martin works as a nurse care manager at Seattle Children’s Hospital, and her coworkers know that she’s about to become a two-time Paralympian during her free time. She said some of her coworkers were the most excited that she qualified for Cortina Milano and plan to watch her races despite the time difference. 

Martin, meanwhile, admitted she’s feeling “a mix of all of the emotions” leading up to the start of the Winter Paralympics. 

“I definitely am really excited. This is something I’ve been working toward for a number of years, and so it’s exciting to meet my goal to qualify for the team,” Martin said. “And now there’s the hope that I will be in a position to put a good race together, kind of put all the pieces together that I’m hoping for. And along with that, there’s, of course, nerves.” 

Alex Abrams has written about Olympic and Paralympic sports for more than 15 years, including as a reporter for major newspapers in Florida, Arkansas and Oklahoma. He is a freelance contributor to USParaNordic.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.