In Memoriam: Maria Gudmundsdottir Toney '23

Maria Gudmundsdottir Toney ’23, who had attended Pacific's School of Physical Therapy, died of a rare form of cancer on Sept. 2, 2022, at age 29. The school is establishing a scholarship in her name.

Born in Iceland, Toney was an accomplished slalom-skiing athlete. She won the International Skiing Federation’s (FIS) Icelandic National Championship for Slalom skiing four times and won the national championship for giant slalom twice. She also competed in the 2013 and 2015 FIS World Championships. She retired from competitive skiing in 2018 due to injuries and went on to attend Pacific’s School of Physical Therapy in 2020. She withdrew while going through treatment.

"The diagnosis as it was, it was very difficult mentally at the beginning and it still is," she told an Icelandic news site last year. "But it gets better and better and easier to talk about. But I would say it's still a bit up and down, like the mental side."

She was born to Guðmundur Sigurjónsson and Bryndís Ýr Viggósdóttir, both known competitive skiers in Iceland. She is survived by her husband, Ryan Toney.