Schoorl (The Netherlands), Tauranga (New Zealand). With her father running a kayak school, Martina was destined to become a kayaker. Growing up in the small seaside village of Schoorl, she spent her teenage summers working as a kayak instructor and following the European freestyle circuit. Martina has become a true globetrotter who can pride herself on winning the European Freestyle Championships and some of the highest profile whitewater races in the world, including the Teva Outdoor Games and the Sickline Extreme World Championships four times in a row – her sights are now on slalom competition.
This November the new Vector Wero whitewater park in south Auckland hosted the world’s richest kayaking event yet, the Whitewater XL. With $60,000 prize money...