Peggy Martin is one of the first competitive snowboarders in the world, between able-bodied and adaptive snowboarding. Along with being the first, Peggy is also one of the oldest competitors active on the Para snowboard circuit, and despite her age, she continues to push boundaries and win events. 

Martin started snowboarding in 1986 when she was working as a ski instructor in Colorado. After she saw someone going down the hill on a singular board instead of two skinny skis, Peggy used borrowed and homemade equipment to start her snowboard journey and quickly was up on her feet, flying down the slopes. As the snowboarding world expanded, competitive events started to become more popular; in 1988, just two years after starting, Peggy began racing competitively. 

Eventually, Martin had to devote more time to her work due to injuries and got a pilot's license and became a flight attendant in 1992. Four years later, she seriously injured her arm in a snowmobile crash and started snowboarding with her arm in a sling in order to be pain-free while riding. In 2015, Peggy learned that she qualified to compete in Para snowboarding events due to her arm injury, and the rest is history. Despite her success on the Para snowboard circuit and the sport being included in the Paralympics for the first time in 2014, Peggy wasn’t able to compete at the 2018 or 2022 Paralympic Games because her category was not yet included; however, that is something she hopes to help change. 

At the 2023 Para Snowboard World Championships in La Molina, Peggy took home two silver medals in the dual banked slalom and dual banked slalom team, a testament to her dedication and perseverance in the sport. Peggy is a trailblazer both in able-bodied and Para snowboarding and has helped to grow the sports to where they are today.