After fighting off cancer twice and returning to run track for Troy, Martin Bouldo is moving on to the next chapter. Bouldo earned the Sun Belt Conference Male Postgraduate award, allowing him to pursue a graduate degree at NYU.
As a student in NYU medical school, Bouldo hopes to become an oncologist.
“Part of the problem with medical school is that it’s very expensive,” said Bouldo, who also received a scholarship from the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. “When I heard about receiving the scholarships, it just felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.”
However, his experience with cancer isn’t the only reason why he wants to go into oncology.
“Simply put, there’s a large degree of empathy that you gain from shared experience,” Bouldo said. “There’s something to be said about treating patients having gone through all of that myself.
“I look forward to the journey and the impact I can have in the future.”
Bouldo was first diagnosed with cancer in October 2020.
“It throws you off completely and pulls the rug out from under you,” Bouldo said. “You really lose the sense of control you have over your life, and for me, that meant not being able to run track or do school anymore.”
Bouldo, who is from Wurzburg, Germany, said he tried to regain that control.
“You try to regain the control that you had, be resilient and persevere,” Bouldo said. “For me, that became trying to inspire and help others.
“I wanted to show that despite hardship, I could move forward and still be strong.”
Shortly after returning to the track, Bouldo had a recurrence and underwent another major surgery. He again returned to the track to run last season.
Over the 2023-24 season, Bouldo set personal bests in the 400m and 800m races. He also finished in the top 10 for the 800m five times during the season.
Bouldo gave credit to all of the people who helped him, particularly head coach Marc Davis.
“Coach D was there every step of the way, and when I told him I wanted to come back he was super supportive,” Bouldo said. “What that meant was that I didn’t start out running; I started out with a long walk, which turned into a jog and then a run.
“Every week was tailored with the goal of running at the DI level again, but it wasn’t about going full force straight away. I didn’t do this by myself; my whole journey was populated with family, friends, doctors and nurses.”
Although it was a long journey back, Bouldo said he was blessed to finish strong.
“I was able to close that chapter on my own terms,” Bouldo said. “That’s not an opportunity that everyone has.”
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