Biology freshman Nicholas Martin’s athletic journey began in high school, where he played eight different sports: football, baseball, basketball, swim, tennis, cross country, and track and field. Of them all, it was track and field that earned him an invitation to join the Wolf Pack as the first decathlete on the team in 12 years.
A decathlete is a track and field competitor who competes in 10 different events: the 100 meters, 400 meters, 1500 meters, 110 meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, pole vault, discus throw, javelin throw, and shotput.
Before coming to Loyola, Martin said he didn’t know what a decathlete was, despite being signed as one. In high school, Martin said, unbeknownst to him, his coach had him compete in several different track and field events each summer, gradually increasing the number of events he did. Martin showed success in eight different events, including the javelin throw and the triple jump — his highest performing events.
“I’ve always been an athlete that’s willing to try anything,” he said.
It was this eagerness that caught the attention of track and field assistant coach, Ron Holden, who recruited Martin for the position after he’d already been accepted to Loyola.
“I called him up and started chatting with him, and he did a diverse set of events that you don’t normally mix together, so I thought he’d have a very good chance as a decathlete,” Holden said.
Although Martin is a natural athlete, he said he grew up in a musical family, so he started singing and playing several different instruments at an early age. From the start, he said he had a passion for artistry and performance. When he found sports, he saw it as another art form and another opportunity to express himself.
“When I look at track and field, when I look at the people that compete within the sport, I see them as artists expressing their art,” Martin said.
As for himself, he describes his ability to push forward as an athlete as a switch that flips.
“Whenever I get to practice, no matter how much pain I’m in, how sore I am, as soon as I hit the court, all the pain goes away,” he said. “Everything just switches. There’s no pain. There’s nothing. It’s just clarity.”
Even with all of the hard work that comes with being a student athlete, Martin said he is able to maintain balance in his life by operating on a tight schedule, which allows him to “handle business.”
Martin said all of the sports he played in high school, along with his involvement in student leadership, helped him build the stamina to be a college athlete and pursue a degree in the medical field.
“It’s allowing me to take ownership of opportunities that come to me,” he said.
Along with sports and music, Martin also has a passion for medicine. Upon graduation, he wants to pursue a career in physical therapy or psychiatry.
“Because I do love athletics so much, and I know competing won’t last forever,” he said. “[My] body’s gonna give out eventually, so I know that with my competitiveness, I’m not gonna wanna give up sports like that. So with my deep desire for medicine, I want to be able to help athletes.”
Martin said he was an athletic training intern in high school, where he was able to wrap and assist athletes with minor sports injuries. With his own knowledge of sports, Martin said he was better able to help them and offer advice that he would use himself.
While Martin’s journey at Loyola has just begun, he knows that he doesn’t want to limit himself.
“I can do anything,” he said. “I can do everything.”
