Martha Benjamin (born 1935) from Old Crow, Yukon (Vuntut Gwitch'in First Nation) [1] is a Canadian Indigenous cross country skier. With the guidance of Jean-Marie Mouchet (Oblate Priest), she took up the sport of cross-country skiing. [1] Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, Benjamin was a national level skier competing throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. [2]
A lifelong resident of Old Crow, Yukon, Benjamin married before the age of 25 [3] [1] and had five children and thirteen grandchildren. [4]
Whitehorse is the capital of the Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which rises in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in Alaska. The city was named after the White Horse Rapids for their resemblance to the mane of a white horse, near Miles Canyon, before the river was dammed.
The 2010 Winter Paralympics, or the tenth Paralympic Winter Games, were held in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada from March 12 to 21, 2010. The opening ceremony took place in BC Place Stadium in Vancouver and the Closing Ceremony in Whistler Medals Plaza.
Old Crow is a community in the Canadian territory of Yukon.
The Arctic Winter Games are a biennial multi-sport and indigenous cultural event involving circumpolar peoples residing in communities or countries bordering the Arctic Ocean.
Skijoring is a winter sport in which a person on skis is pulled by a horse, a dog, another animal, or a motor vehicle. The name is derived from the Norwegian word skikjøring, meaning "ski driving". Although skijoring is said to have originated as a mode of winter travel, it is currently primarily a competitive sport.
Ireland sent a delegation to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy from 10–26 February 2006. This was Ireland's fourth appearance at a Winter Olympic Games. The Irish delegation to Turin consisted of four athletes, two alpine skiers, one cross-country skier, and one skeleton racer. The best performance by any Irish competitor at these Olympics was 20th, by David Connolly in the men's skeleton race. The Bobsleigh team, Ireland’s first and only at the Olympics finished 24th, driven by Peter O’Malley with John O’Donoghue on Breaks and the brothers Joe and Patrick Mullins rounding out the crew.
Zina Kocher is a Canadian cross-country skier and former biathlete. She competed for Team Canada in biathlon at the 2006, 2010, 2014 Winter Olympics and in 12 editions of the Biathlon World Championships.
Hilary Kirsten Lindh is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States. A specialist in the downhill event, she was a world champion and Olympic medalist.
Marian Horne is a Canadian politician, who represented the rural Yukon electoral district of Pelly-Nisutlin in the Yukon Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2011. She is a member of the Yukon Party.
Brian McKeever is a Canadian cross-country skier and biathlete, who became Canada's most decorated Winter Paralympian when he won his 14th medal at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. He finished the 2018 Games with a career total of 13 gold medals and 17 medals, making him the most decorated Paralympic cross-country skier ever. McKeever claimed a 16th Paralympic gold medal in the men's para cross-country middle distance vision impaired race at Beijing 2022, drawing him level with the German para-alpine racer Gerd Schönfelder for the most men's Winter Paralympic wins.
Stephanie Dixon, is a Canadian swimmer. She is a three-time Paralympian and competed at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Paralympic Games prior to retiring from competitive swimming in 2010. During her career, Dixon won nineteen Paralympic medals and seven Parapan American Games medals, and was a 10-time world champion. She is one of Canada's most successful Paralympians.
Shirley Firth was a Canadian cross-country skier who competed in four consecutive Winter Olympics in 1972, 1976, 1980 and 1984.
Sharon Firth is a Canadian former cross-country skier who competed in the Winter Olympics in 1972, 1976, 1980 and 1984. Firth's mother was Gwich'in and her father was Métis. She and her sister grew up in the Gwich'in First Nation.
Roseanne Allen was a Canadian cross-country skier who competed in the 1972 Winter Olympics.
Emily Nishikawa is a Canadian former cross-country skier.
Jesse Cockney is a Canadian Olympic cross-country skier of Inuvialuit heritage whose father, Angus Cockney, also was a Canadian national team member and national champion. The 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia is where Cockney made his Olympic debut. Cockney competed in two events at Sochi, the sprint, and the 50 km mass start, which are the shortest and longest events at the Games. Prior to the Olympics, Cockney had a successful Junior career, winning three gold medals at the 2011 Canada Winter Games. He also made his World Cup debut in 2011. While growing up in Canmore, Alberta, Cockney participated in the ski development program. Cockney is a member of the Nordic Hills Ski Club and Canadian Senior Team. He is fluent in both English and French. Actress and activist Marika Sila is his younger sister.
Martha Rockwell is a retired American cross-country skier and coach, who competed at the Winter Olympic Games in 1972 and 1976. She has been cited in the U.S. as a "pioneer" and a "legend" in women's cross-country skiing, having been the U.S. women's cross-country ski champion 18 times between 1969 and 1975 as part of the first U.S. national cross-country ski team for women.
Knute Johnsgaard is a Canadian cross-country skier. He competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Lorna Manzer is a Canadian Paralympic skier. Over the course of two Paralympic Games, she earned two bronze medals, two gold medals, and one silver for Team Canada.
Gurdeep Pandher is a Sikh-Canadian, Yukon-based author, teacher and performer, who makes Punjabi dance videos. Gurdeep was born into a farming family, in a small village in Siahar, Punjab. He moved to Canada in 2006 and became a Canadian citizen in 2011. Moving to Canada inspired him to tour the entire country and further understand his adopted nation. He has lived in numerous Canadian provinces, including small Canadian villages, but found his home in a wilderness cabin in Yukon.