Mariann Marthinsen (born 9 September 1984) is a Norwegian

cross-country skier Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

and swimmer. She won a bronze medal at the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

, and won Norway's only gold medal at

2014 Winter Paralympics The 2014 Winter Paralympics (russian: Зимние Паралимпийские игры 2014, Zimniye Paralimpiyskiye igry 2014), the 11th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were an ...

Career

Mariann Marthinsen (née Vestbostad) was born on 9 September 1984. Her right leg was amputated when she was two, following a road traffic accident. She attended

Western Norway University of Applied Sciences Western Norway University of Applied Sciences () or HVL is a Norwegian public institution of higher education, established in January 2017 through the merging of formerly independent colleges across five campuses: Bergen, Førde, Haugesund, Sog ...

, where she studied Social Work Studies, later going on to become a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

. In 2003, she began competing in swimming. During the course of her swimming career, she set 17 world records and won a bronze medal at the

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China, in the women's 100 metre backstroke S8, and also competed in freestyle races. Also in 2008, she decided to take up

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

, going on to win the seated skiing World Cup in 2013/14. At the

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, Russia, she won Norway's first gold medal at a Winter Paralympics with a victory in the women's 1km sprint classic, sitting. Marthinsen had led in the prologue round, and then in her heat but entered the final as the third fastest. She entered the last corner in fourth place, but took the lead with a few metres to go. In the

5 km 5 km may refer to: *5K run The 5K run is a long-distance road running competition over a distance of . Also referred to as the 5K road race, 5 km, or simply 5K, it is the shortest of the most common road running distances. It is usually dis ...

race, one of her skis were damaged early in the race, resulting in Marthinsen finishing in 15th place.

References

Living people 1984 births Norwegian female cross-country skiers Norwegian female backstroke swimmers Norwegian female freestyle swimmers Paralympic gold medalists for Norway Paralympic bronze medalists for Norway Norwegian social workers Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Cross-country skiers at the 2014 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2014 Winter Paralympics Paralympic medalists in cross-country skiing Paralympic medalists in swimming Paralympic swimmers for Norway Paralympic cross-country skiers for Norway S8-classified para swimmers 20th-century Norwegian women 20th-century Norwegian people 21st-century Norwegian women 21st-century Norwegian people {{Norway-Paralympic-medalist-stub