Martha Gustafson

Martha Gustafson

Personal information
Full name	Martha Sandoval Gustafson
Born	(1950-01-08) January 8, 1950 Tampico, Mexico
Height	145 cm (4 ft 9 in)
Weight	60 kg (132 lb)
Sport
Country	Mexico (1976–1980)  Canada (1984–)
Disability class	F52
Medal record Table Tennis Paralympic Games 1976 Toronto Singles 1C Swimming Paralympic Games 1980 Arnhem 25 m backstroke 1B 1980 Arnhem 25 m freestyle 1B 1984 New York/Stoke Mandeville 25 m Freestyle 1B 1976 Toronto 25 m backstroke 1B 1976 Toronto 25 m breaststroke 1B 1984 New York/Stoke Mandeville 25 m Backstroke 1B Athletics Paralympic Games 1976 Toronto 60 m 1B 1976 Toronto Club throw 1B 1976 Toronto Discus throw 1B 1980 Arnhem Discus throw 1B 1984 New York/Stoke Mandeville 100 m 1A 1984 New York/Stoke Mandeville 200 m 1A 1984 New York/Stoke Mandeville 400 m 1A 1984 New York/Stoke Mandeville 800 m 1A 1984 New York/Stoke Mandeville Discus throw 1B 1980 Arnhem 60 m 1B 1980 Arnhem Shot put 1B 1980 Arnhem Club throw 1B

Martha Sandoval Gustafson (born January 8, 1950) is a multiple Paralympic medallist for Mexico and Canada. Gustafson medalled in table tennis, swimming, and athletics for Mexico before moving to Canada. After moving, Gustafson medalled in the Paralympics for Canada in athletics.

Early life and education

Gustafson was born in Tampico, Mexico on January 8, 1950. When she was a child, she became sick with polio and required the use of wheelchair. Gustafson played various sports throughout her childhood including curling and shot put.^[1] In 1981, she moved from Mexico to Toronto.^[2]

Career

Gustafson has played in various sports throughout her career including swimming, table tennis and athletics. She has played for both Mexico and Canada.^[3] For Mexico, Gustafson competed at the 1976 Summer Paralympics and 1980 Summer Paralympics. She won over ten medals representing Mexico, 6 of them being gold.^[2] Alternatively, Gustafson represented Canada at the 1984 Summer Paralympics and the 1988 Summer Paralympics. She won seven Paralympic medals for Canada in 1984.^[4]

Apart from the Paralympics, Gustafson won bronze in shot put at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships with a Championship Record of 3.45 metres.^[5] The same year, she won gold in shot put at the 2011 Canadian Track and Field Championships.^[6] A few years later, Gustafson came in 8th place during the discus event at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships.^[7] Gustafson won a silver medal at the 2016 Canadian Track and Field Championships in discus.^[8]

Honors and achievements

Gustafson was a nominee for the Female Athlete With a Disability of the Year award at the 2010 and 2011 Ontario Sports Awards.^[9][10]

References

External links

• Paralympic Bio