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Makara Martin
Tell us a
bit about yourself.
My name is Makara Martin. I am 17 years old. I live in Alberta, Canada.
Presently I am a student in the 12th grade. And as far as work goes,
racing is my job.
What type of bike do
you ride?
I ride a hyper boxster.
Who are your
sponsors?
My sponsor is Hyper Bicycles.
How did you get
involved in BMX and how long have you been racing for? How long do you
think you will keep racing for?
I got involved in BMX from a friend. She would always go somewhere every
Wednesday and Friday nights which cut out of our playing time (I was 9),
so one time I went with her to see what she was always doing and ended up
racing on a 16” wheel bike. I had a blast and stayed with it ever since.
I have been racing since I was 9. This is my eighth year racing. I hope to
still be racing for the next couple years or more. I can’t really say
exactly how much longer I will be racing for, cause I don’t know.
What major results
and achievements have you had?
I have achieved a lot during my years of racing. I have been anywhere from
provincial champion to world champion. Here is a list of some of my
accomplishments:
- #1 girl every year in my age group nationally and provincials
- #1 world champion 1996 in Brighton England
- #8 world champion 1997 in Saskatoon Canada
- #2 world champion 1998 in Melbourne Australia
- #2 world cup champion 1999 in Vallet France
- #3 world champion 2000 in Cordoba Argentina
- #5 world champion 2001 in Louisville Kentucky USA
- National #3 Canadian bmx boys class in 1999
- National #2 Canadian bmx boys 14 and under cruiser class in 1999
- National #5 Canadian bmx boys class in 2000
- #1 Canadian championships in cruiser and class in 2000
- National #1 in ABA (American bicycle association) 2000
- #1 pro women in 2001 and 2002 in cruiser and class
- #1 Canada Cup Dual Slalom 2000
What has been your
most memorable moment in BMX?
Winning the world Title in Brighton, England in 1996.
What has been your
biggest disappointment in BMX?
Crashing in the main at the 1997 worlds while I was in first place. And
also crashing in my semi in 1999 at the worlds in France.
What is the racing
like for girls in Canada?
There are not that many girl racers in Canada but there are enough to make
at least a class in every age group except for 2 or 3. We used to have
more girls in the past years but lots have quit. We have enough girls to
make a pro women’s class every national but not in pro women’s
cruiser, so I have to race the pro men in cruiser.
What is the pro
girls class like in Canada?
To make a class in Canada you need 3 in a moto. The age limit to race for
money in the pro classes is 16. The prize money for women is about
140-180$ for first place and then cut it in half for the other places. The
money pools are not equally divided between men and women. The girls get
about 25% of the pot. The guys get around 280-360$ for first place. The
girls class is not very competitive down here but there are a couple fast
girls.
Can females make a
living out of racing BMX in Canada?
Nope.
What is the racing
scene in general like in Canada?
Racing in Canada starts whenever the snow melts which is around April and
ends around the end of September when it starts to snow again. We have a
Western National series and an Eastern National series and at the end of
the season we have a Canadian championship. In the West we have a national
and a provincial every month. So I guess you could say we get a lot of
racing during the season.
What other countries
have you raced in? Have you ever raced in Australia?
I have raced all over the USA, England, Argentina, France, and of course
Australia.
What has been your
favourite country to race in and why?
Australia has been my favorite place to race because the people are
awesome and the weather is always good. The racers are super fast and lots
of them. Australia is a beautiful country, I like everything about it.
If you have been to
Australia, what did you think of it?
I thought that it would be the best place in the world to live! I love it.
Who is your
favourite male and female bmx’er and why?
My favorite male bmxer would have to be Greg Hill because he is very
positive and determined and he helped me a lot. I must say he is the
smoothest and fastest racer of all. But he doesn’t race anymore. I
don’t really have a favorite female racer.
What Australian
female bmx’ers have you heard of and what do you think of when think
about these riders?
I know Emma Franklin. She is an awesome girl and super fast. Can’t wait
to see her again. Love ya girl. I have also met Natarsha Williams, Rachael
Marshall, Lynette Page, Melissa and Heidi (I forget there last names but
they are in my age group) and that’s all I can remember, it has been a
while. All the girls I met were awesome.
How often and what
do you do for training?
I have kinda taken this year off but still racing the Nationals and
that’s it. But the past years have been a lot of hard, intense training
for me. I would do sprints everyday, long and short. I would go to the
track before school and ride for about an hour and a half then after
school I would either go street riding or to the track to race. For off
season training I would do rollers 3-4 times a week for 2-3 hours then do
plyometrics. The days I was not on rollers I would be doing weights and
cardio work. I was training at two different facilities so the schedules
were pretty close some days, so I would have to go to one place and then
straight after training I would go to the other place and do another 1-2
hours of training. I have done a lot of training the past 8 years of
racing.
What is your
favourite TV show?
I don’t have one. My TV broke.
What is your
favourite type of music?
I like all kinds of music but if I had to pick my favorite it would be
Hiphop, R&B, and Rap.
Do you play any
other sports or have any other hobbies besides BMX?
I have many hobbies besides bmx. I love sports and have been playing for
as long as I can remember. Been on all school sports teams which include
volleyball, basketball, floor hockey, badminton and so on. At the moment I
am weight training everyday, snowboard/hockey in the winter, and mountain
bike in the summer.
What do you do in
your spare time?
SHOP. Lol… I love shopping. Cliff jumping, sun tan (in summer), hang
with friends, go to the gym, movies, all that fun stuff.
What are your future
goals/ambitions? Is there anything that you haven’t achieved yet, but
would like to?
The only goal I have not achieved yet is winning the worlds for a second
time. It would be great if I could just win one more world title before I
retire from bmx. My future goals are to get a national number in Australia
this coming year, and to train super hard for the worlds. And of course
make loads of friends while I am living in Australia.
Are you planning on
coming to Australia for the 2003 World Titles?
OH YEAH, no doubt about it. I’ll be at the worlds in Australia.
Is there anybody you
would like to thank?
I would like to thank the Sick Chics Of BMX for giving me this interview
it was fun. And I would like to thank HYPER BICYCLES for being an awesome
sponsor. OH and of course my mommy.
***GIRLS ROCK***
Thank you for your time and we might see you in Perth in 2003.