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Alaska Girl Goes to Egypt for Taekwondo Championships
Moriah Martin competes on the U.S. National Team
By Lauren Maxwell
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ANCHORAGE - You may not be familiar with 15-year-old Moriah Martin, but the teen from Eagle River has done something in the sports world that no Alaska girl can lay claim to. This April she will be traveling to Egypt with the U.S. national team to compete in the Junior World Championships of Taekwondo.
Moriah Martin is a sophomore at Anchorage Christian Schools where teachers describe her as a student who “goes the extra mile,” working hard and getting good grades.
But her soft-spoken demeanor may not hint at the Taekwondo fighting champ inside her.
Moriah Martin was recently ranked first in the U.S. as a middleweight fighter for her 14 to 17 age bracket.
She earned the title in January when competing for a single spot on the Jr. Nationals team and won.
The victory means Moriah Martin will represent the country in her weight class, going up against at least 50 other contenders from around the world, at the championship tournament. She credits her father for the win.
“He’s been training me my whole life for this moment so it's kind of everything coming together,” said the humble teen. “It’s finally being able to take that step.”
Her lifelong trainer is her father, Trevor Martin, a Taekwondo Grand Master himself. He started his daughter in the sport when she was very young.
“Moriah showed an interest from the time that she could walk,” says Trevor Martin. “Doing what dad was doing.”
The family owns the Taekwondo USA Club in Midtown Anchorage and all are high achievers. Moriah Martin is a black belt and so are her mother and father. All the siblings on her father’s side are black belts as well as both grandparents.
Moriah Martin is also a teenager, which is to say she has plenty of demands including school, watching three younger siblings and constant training for hours almost every day. Her father said she’s made a lot of sacrifices to get to the top but that she motivates herself.
Moriah Martin said the hard work comes naturally but she’s hoping the payoff will be a big win in the upcoming tournament.
