Seattle Children's nurse returns to Paralympics
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Seattle Children's nurse Erin Martin is headed to her second Winter Paralympics in para-Nordic skiing — just seven years after first trying the sport.
The big picture: The 2026 Winter Paralympics begin Friday in Milan-Cortina, where Martin will compete among 68 U.S. athletes on the world's biggest stage for winter para-sports.
Flashback: Martin sustained a spinal cord injury in a climbing accident in North Bend more than a decade ago.
- She was introduced to para-Nordic skiing in 2019 by fellow Seattle Children's nurse Heather Galeotalanza.
- The next year, she raced in her first national championship and made her World Cup debut in Germany.
- Within three years, she had qualified for her first Paralympics in Beijing.
Between the lines: Martin trains six days a week, 11 months a year, according to Seattle University, her alma mater. That involves balancing elite competition with her work at the hospital, where she works as a care manager.
What she's saying: "Snow is the least accessible thing on the face of the Earth for wheelchair users," Martin, 39, said in an article for the university. "And so it's pretty fun to be able to get out and explore in the snow. It's very empowering."
Zoom in: She is set to compete in the 1-kilometer sprint, the 10-kilometer race and the biathlon, where athletes race a ski circuit and stop to shoot an air rifle at targets.
- "There is something really cool about the combination of a really hard endurance sport with the highly structured, very precise effort that it takes to shoot accurately," Martin said in the Seattle University article.
- "You have to shoot as quickly as you can because I can't spend two minutes waiting for my heart rate to come down."
What's next: The Paralympics run through March 15. All events will stream on Peacock and broadcast channels USA, CNBC and NBC.