Dr. Regina Martinez’s Journey from the ER to the 2026 Olympics

Written by: Michelle Calderon

Dr. Regina Martinez at the Olympics (Dr. Regina Martinez)

On Feb. 12, Dr. Regina Martinez made history as  the first Mexican female cross-country skier to compete and cross the finish line at the Olympics. Her cross-country skiing journey started at 28-years-old, while completing her medical internship in Minnesota. 

“I remember most of my friends in dental school or medical school, they would do the Birkie race in Wisconsin … and I knew I wanted to do that race before I left Minnesota as my bucket list, so that was kind of the first curiosity,” Martinez said. 

Martinez also said she was inspired by cross-country skier Germán Madrazo, who competed in the 2018 Olympics representing Mexico. 

“That kind of made me realize, like wow seeing is believing! If he can do it, why couldn’t I do it too?” she said. 

What started as curiosity quickly turned into commitment. She said that the more she practiced cross-country skiing, the more she fell in love with it. 

After her first race, she was determined to train even more to eventually make it to the Olympics. 

At the 2021 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, she met individuals representing different countries such as Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, and Tanzania. Meeting these individuals made her want to represent Mexico at a professional level even more.  

Training for the Olympics while balancing life as a medical resident was not easy, but she still made time for it because it was important to her. 

“I was working like 80 hours a week, working and studying 80 hours a week,” she said, “I had to lower my expectations, athletically, and focus on the bare minimum with my coach. That would look like [training]  6-10 hours a week.”

During her three years of residency, she focused on techniques and improving her strength. When she graduated and had more time to focus on the sport, she was a lot stronger and better able to truly master it.

She spent most of her vacations chasing snow in places like Norway, building the foundation she would later rely on after finishing her residency in 2025.

There were days where she felt exhausted after work, but still showed up for training and did her best. 

“You will never have time — you have to make time, and sometimes it’s really hard. The hardest step is just showing up,” she said. 

Breaking down her training and lowering her expectations helped her a lot when she felt tired during her training sessions. 

She also acknowledged that cross-country skiing made her a better doctor by giving her an outlet and a chance to be outdoors. 

“Even though it took effort, and time and energy to train, it gave me back so much more,” she said. “It gave me peace, and the ability to be in nature, it kind of forced me to be outdoors and to enjoy the sunshine, and eventually to feel good because I’m exercising.”

Crossing the finish line with her fellow peers and friends after completing one of the hardest projects of her life is a feeling she will never forget. 

Competing for the Olympics in her 30s has confirmed her belief that age is just a number, and she encourages others who want to start something new to not let any negative belief about getting older stop them. 

“It’s never too late, don’t let society or anyone define you. As we age, we have more life experience, we have more wisdom, we have more tools, we’ve gone through more adversity. We know ourselves better,” she said. “The older we are, the easier starting something new or learning something should be because we have everything at our disposal.”

To Dr. Martinez, what stops most individuals from pursuing something new is their fear of the unknown. Many individuals get stuck in their comfort zones. Therefore, she believes it’s important to be brave and to take the first step toward your goal. She also said it’s okay to feel scared because it’s normal. 

Now, Dr. Martinez plans to continue skiing while working as an emergency medical doctor, and plans to pursue the 2030 Olympics. 

She also said she has a documentary following her journey to the Olympics that she anticipates will be out by next year called, “Chasing Snow.”