Jim Martinson
Competitive – Summer | 2003
2007
In June 1968 near Da Nang, Jim’s life changed forever. A land mine exploded and he lost both legs above the knee. Learning to live without legs took time—not only to build back his strength, but his spirit too. An invitation to play wheelchair basketball got this once fearless competitor back in the game.
He started racing wheelchairs in 1976, and in 1981 he won the Boston Marathon. Jim traveled the world winning races but, an avid skier before his injury, he still wasn’t carving turns on the mountain. Then, a friend took him to nearby Snoqualmie Pass in 1985. Back on snow, Jim got some ideas. Starting in his garage, with little capital, he founded Magic in Motion, an adaptive sport equipment company specializing in lightweight performance wheelchairs.
Starting in his garage, with little capital, he built race chairs and sold them. Jim’s Shadow product line included three-wheeled racing chairs; chairs for playing tennis and basketball; a mono ski; a water ski; and a hand-pedaled attachment that converts a wheelchair into a touring cycle.
Jim was one of the few athletes who won gold in both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. Besides the Boston Marathon, in the 1984 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, Jim raced in the 1,500 meter race, the first Olympic event for disabled athletes. His performances and inspiration earned Jim the Spirit of the Games trophy at the National Veteran’s Games in 1989.
Considered the “father of adaptive skiing,” Jim was a member of the U.S. Disabled Ski Team, where he won gold at the 1992 Winter Paralympics in Albertville, France. In addition, he could often be found working his handcycle on the road and in competitions. He was inducted into the National Disabled Hall of Fame in Vail, Colorado, in 2003.
Jim became an accomplished golfer later in life. At 63, he was the oldest competitor in the Winter X-Games. Nothing was ever too daunting or challenging to dampen Jim’s enthusiasm and his positive attitude.