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| Filipino ice skater Michael Martinez made Olympic history when he qualified for medal round of the men’s figure skating. | | | | |
SOCHI – Filipino Olympian skater Michael Martinez
finished at 19th place out of 24 skaters at the men’s Figure Skating
event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Michael Christian Martinez of Philippines competes during the men’s figure skating short program
Martinez, who made Olympic history for the Philippines and Southeast
Asia by competing in Sochi, garnered a total score of 184.25 points.
Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu won the gold medal, while Patrick Chan of Canada
received the silver, and Kazakhstan’s Denis Ten got the bronze.
Martinez, who performed to the tune of Ernesto Lecuona’s Malaguena,
was the third performer among the 24 skaters in the free program event.
He received a score of 119.44 points during Friday’s routine.
The 17-year-old looked more daring doing triple axels, triple double
toes, double flip, and lot more presentation towards the judges’ side.
However, he fell at one point and landed on his right hand after
executing a triple loop.
“For me, he’s getting stronger and maybe running away a little bit
but he’s giving it everything that he’s got and he’s fighting right to
the finish,” said a female event commentator.
Martinez ended his routine with a Biellmann Spin, an unusual and
difficult maneuver for male figure skaters. “Unusual for men, the
Biellmann spin, performance to be proud of,” she said.
“A lot to be proud of, he really did the program well he had a good
flow across the ice, the speed was there,” said the male commentator.
During the short program on Thursday, Martinez scored 64.81 points.
This enabled him to march to the free program, the medal round of the
men’s figure skating event.
The teenager is the first Filipino and Southeast Asian to qualify in the Winter Olympics men’s figure skating.
Even after bowing out of the medal position in the men's figure skating finals,
lone Filipino Winter Olympian Michael Christian Martinez has earned the
praise and respect of the country's sports officials, on top of the
outpouring of support he received from legions of Filipinos.
The 17-year-old figure skater from Parañaque dazzled and wowed the
world with his impressive routines in two days of action in the figure
skating event at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia.
Martinez, who is the first and youngest Southeast Asian figure skater
to compete at the Winter Olympics, made history by barging into the
final round after a 64.81-point performance in the short program,
followed by a score of 119.44 in the finale to accumulate a score of
184.25 through two days of competition.
Martinez performed third and held the lead after 6 performers had skated.
Martinez weathered an injury months before the Olympics, and his family had to make a number of sacrifices to make it to the international stage, where he would earn respect.
In the very first day alone, commentators already referred to
Martinez's performance as "history in the making." And when he capped
off his showing in the finale, the commentators were left in awe of the
gallantry Martinez had shown.
All praises
Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, an athlete herself and the Philippines'
representative to the International Olympic Committee, couldn’t help but
say positive things to the child prodigy who made his country proud
with the Olympic appearance.
"Michael worked very hard to be here. He's here because he deserves
to be here. He's driven and passionate," said Cojuangco-Jaworski in a
television interview.
She wished nothing but the best for the hard-working Martinez.
"You don't become an Olympian without having those traits. Hopefully
he can continue his athletic dreams. It is my prayer that he can do
both. He is still young and he has a lot in front of him," she remarked
of Martinez, who aspires to become a doctor some day as well.
Philippine Sports Commission chairman Ricardo Garcia meanwhile said
the youngster had "the attitude of a winner" and would use his time in
Sochi "as a stepping stone to gain more experience for the next
Olympics".
The best is yet to come
Martinez has turned into a media darling, said TV5 reporter James
Velasquez, stating that Martinez was fielding interview requests left
and right. And the kid is only beginning a storied journey.
The youngest competitor in the field spoke right after his
performance at the Iceberg Skating Palace on Friday, expressing his
elation following his stint. "The first half was pretty good, but
halfway though the program I got out of breath, but I did my best all
the way through. This is the first time I landed the triple axel in the
second half of the program."
Martinez, whose 184.25 points was good for 14th place after 19
performances at time of publish, is already looking forward to the next
Winter Games in South Korea.
"My goal is to qualify again for the next Winter Olympics," he said.
"If I can get more support financially, I'm thinking about the next Olympics."
For the Olympian, who has become an overnight local hero and has
served as inspiration his countrymen, there is nothing to be ashamed of.
Martinez has a lot more in store in the future; he will only get better. The world awaits.
Source:
Rappler.com
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