The Squamish Chief editorial team has selected 10 top themes, events and issues for the year in our coverage. This story is one in a series of those.
One of Squamish’s brightest stars on the ski hill and in the hearts of many around town, Mikayla Martin, died in a mountain biking accident in October.
Search and rescue reported the accident happened on an extremely challenging mountain bike trail.
RCMP said it was on the Slhanay trail system behind Stawamus Chief Provincial Park.
Crews had to access the site by both ground and air due to its remoteness. News of her death reverberated around the world.
In the weeks that followed, it became clear that Squamish lost not just a star athlete, but a well-loved person.
Martin made a name for herself as a prospective Olympic skier for the 2022. Initially an alpine racer, she moved to ski cross after the 2016-17 season and quickly made the national team.
The following summer, she won the FIS Junior World Championship in Cardrona, New Zealand.
More recently, she achieved a pair of Top-10 results on the FIS World Cup circuit in 2018-19, including a sixth-place finish in Innichen, Switzerland. She qualified for the FIS World Ski Championships in Utah, where she sustained a season-ending injury in the small final.
During her celebration of life, 700 people packed the West Coast Railway Heritage Park and about 1,000 watched the livestream broadcast online.
Speaking to The Chief, her parents said Martin was a bright personality who showed kindness to all.
As one example, her mother, Christine, remembered when her daughter, who had just won first place at a competition, waited to congratulate the skier who finished last at 30th place.
One of her friends, local Paralympian Alex Cairns, told The Chief Martin had an appetite for adventure and a sense of humour. He remembered her as a friend who would make the effort to check-in.
A memorial fund that was established in her name to help future female athletes surpassed its $10,000 goal seven times over.
As of Nov. 29, the donations surpassed that goal by at least seven times totalling $71,386.
The Martins are in the process of deciding exactly how the funds will be spent.
They’ve said, however, that the goal is to support a young female athlete who embodies Martin’s spirit.
Martin’s mother remembered that encouraging female participation in sport was a big priority for her daughter.
