Michael Christian Martinez

Michael Christian Martinez

Martinez at the 2012 World Junior Championships
Personal information
Full name Michael Christian Martinez
Country represented  Philippines
Born (1996-11-04) November 4, 1996
Parañaque, Philippines
Home town Muntinlupa, Philippines
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Coach Igor Samohin
Former coach Ilia Kulik
Peter Kongkasem
Maria Teresa Martinez
John Nicks
Viktor Kudriavtsev
Choreographer Nikolai Morozov
Philip Mills
Former choreographer Justin Dillon
Skating club Metro ISC
Training locations Hackensack, New Jersey
Manila, Philippines
Former training locations Lake Forest, California
Began skating 2005
World standing 31 (as of October 2016)[1]
ISU personal best scores
Combined total 220.36
2015 Cup of China
Short program 74.45
2014 Golden Spin
Free skate 148.12
2015 Cup of China
Medal record
Representing  Philippines
Men's Figure skating
Asian Trophy
2015 Bangkok Men's singles

Michael Christian Martinez (born November 4, 1996) is a Filipino figure skater. He is the 2015 Asian Figure Skating Trophy champion, a two-time Triglav Trophy champion and has won one ISU Challenger Series medal, silver at the 2014 Warsaw Cup. Martinez is the first skater from Southeast Asia and from a tropical country to qualify for the Olympics and the only athlete to represent the Philippines at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Personal life

Martinez was born on November 4, 1996 in Parañaque,[2] the youngest of three children.[3] He began experiencing asthmatic bronchitis at two months old and was frequently in the hospital.[2] Although a cold rink initially had a detrimental effect, he stated in 2014 that, "year after year my health keeps improving, so my mother fully supported me to continue skating." He said it is better to spend the money on skating than on the hospital."[4] Martinez graduated from high school in around 2013.[5]

Career

Martinez began skating in 2005 at the SM Southmall ice rink.[6] In 2009, he missed two months after a skating blade cut his thigh.[2] In addition to training in Manila, in 2010 he began spending several months a year in California, United States working with John Nicks and Ilia Kulik.[4][7]

Martinez debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series in the 2010–11 season. In 2011, he tore two ligaments in his ankle, leading to three months of recovery.[2] In April 2012, he tore a medial ligament in his knee and was off the ice for three months.[2][7]

Martinez landed his first triple Axel jump in competition at a 2012–13 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Lake Placid, New York.[7] He placed 6th in his JGP event in Croatia.

First senior international title in 2012

At the 2012 Crystal Skate of Romania, Martinez won his first senior international title, also a first for the Philippines. He finished fifth in his second appearance at the 2013 World Junior Figure Skating Championships and set a new personal best overall score of 191.64 points. A fractured ankle kept him off the ice for two months in 2013.[2]

Martinez started the 2013–14 season at the 2013 JGP Latvia where he finished 4th. He then competed on the senior level at the 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy, the last qualifying event for the 2014 Winter Olympics. He finished 7th and earned a spot for the Philippines in men's singles — a first for his country.[8] Martinez then competed at the 2013 JGP Estonia and won his first JGP medal, a bronze. In January 2014, he received treatment for an inflamed knee.[9] He withdrew from the 2014 Four Continents Championships but competed at Skate Helena and took the gold medal.

2014 Winter Olympics

The first skater in the Winter Olympics to come from Southeast Asia, Martinez was also the only athlete representing the Philippines at the 2014 Winter Olympics and served as his country's flagbearer at the opening ceremony. Viktor Kudriavtsev coached him for one month leading up to the Olympics.[10] In Sochi, Martinez qualified for the free skate after placing 19th in the short program with a score of 64.81 points, a season best. He scored 119.44 in the free skate and finished 19th overall with a total score of 184.25.[11][12]

MVP Sports Foundation supported the skater and announced a bonus of $10,000 after the Olympics.[13] He was named an adopted son of Pasay by Mayor Antonino Calixto.[14]

Post-Olympics

Recovering from a recurring knee injury after the Olympics, Martinez was replaced by Christopher Caluza at the 2014 World Figure Skating Championships.

2014 Triglav Trophy

Martinez returned to competition at the 2014 Triglav Trophy and won the gold medal. In June 2014, he began training at Hackensack, New Jersey's Ice House, under the guidance of Nikolai Morozov.[15]

Making his ISU Challenger Series (CS) debut, Martinez finished sixth overall at the Lombardia Trophy. He was assigned to his first senior Grand Prix event, the 2014 Skate America.[16] In his short program, he fell on his triple axel, but landed all his other jumps and received level fours on his camel spin, his flying sit spin, and his step sequence; he finished ninth.[17] He also placed ninth in the free skate, falling on his triple axel, underrotating his triple toe in the triple lutz-triple toe combination, and stepping out in his double axel towards the end of the program.[18] Martinez finished tenth overall.[19]

2014 ISU Challenger Series Silver

In November 2014, Martinez competed at the CS Warsaw Cup where he won the silver medal behind Russia's Alexander Petrov. Martinez posted new personal best scores with a total of 213.38 points.[20] Martinez competed in his first Worlds at the 2015 World Championships finishing in 21st position.

Martinez withdrew from several summer competitions due to ongoing therapy and rehabilitation for his spine. He also was unable to compete at the 2015 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic due to acute asthma.[21]

2015 Asian Figure Skating Trophy

He started his season by winning gold at the 2015 Asian Figure Skating Trophy, becoming the first Filipino to win the event. He then competed at 2015 Cup of China where he finished 6th with a new personal best overall score of 220.36 points. He also competed at 2015 Warsaw Cup and Golden Spin where he finished 4th and 7th.

At the 2016 World Figure Skating Championships he finished 19th out of 30 competitors improving from the previous season's tournament. Martinez had planned to execute a quad jump during the tournament's program but decided against the plan. His coach Igor Samohinwas advised against the quad jump at the tournament due to his inconsistent execution of the move prior during training. Martinez plans to execute the move at tournaments during the next season as part of his efforts to be included among the top 10 figure skaters.[22]

Programs

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2016-2017
  • Halo
    by LaVanceColley
2015-2016
[23]
2014–2015
[24]
2013–2014
[26]
2012–2013
[27]
2010–2012
[6][28]

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International[29]
Event 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15 15–16
Olympics 19th
Worlds 21st 19th
Four Continents 16th WD WD 9th
GP Cup of China 6th
GP Skate America 10th
CS Finlandia 9th
CS Golden Spin 6th 7th
CS Lombardia 6th
CS Warsaw Cup 2nd 4th
Asian Trophy 1st
Crystal Skate 1st
Nebelhorn 7th
New Year's Cup 3rd
NRW Trophy 13th
Skate Helena 1st
Triglav Trophy 1st 1st
U.S. Classic 6th
Volvo Open Cup 4th
International: Junior or novice[29]
Junior Worlds 15th 5th
Youth Olympics 7th
JGP Australia 8th
JGP Croatia 6th
JGP Estonia 3rd
JGP Japan 17th
JGP Latvia 4th
JGP USA 4th
Tirnavia 1st N.
National[29]
Philippines 3rd
N. = Novice level; TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew

Detailed results

2015–16 season
Date Event SP FS Total
November 27–29, 2015 2015 Warsaw Cup 6
65.64		 4
140.66		 4
206.30
November 5–8, 2015 2015 Cup of China 7
72.24		 5
148.12		 6
220.36
October 8–11, 2015 2015 Finlandia Trophy 7
65.18		 9
125.36		 9
190.54
August 5–8, 2015 2015 Asian Figure Skating Trophy 1
72.14		 1
116.39		 1
188.53
2014–15 season
Date Event SP FS Total
April 16–19, 2015 2015 Triglav Trophy 5
51.68		 1
130.16		 1
181.84
March 23–29, 2015 2015 World Figure Skating Championships 22
67.03		 20
125.35		 21
192.38
November 21–24, 2014 2014 Golden Spin 4
74.45		 6
130.00		 6
204.45
November 21–24, 2014 2014 Warsaw Cup 2
73.81		 2
139.57		 2
213.38
October 24–26, 2014 2014 Skate America 9
72.81		 9
124.77		 10
197.58
September 21–22, 2014 2014 Lombardia Trophy 6
67.36		 5
132.56 		5
199.92

References

  1. ↑ http://www.isuresults.com/ws/ws/wsmen.htm
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Michael Christian MARTINEZ". Sochi2014.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2014.
  3. ↑ Payo, Jasmine W. (February 25, 2014). "Michael Martinez seeks podium finish in 2018 Games". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  4. 1 2 Park, Madison (February 14, 2014). "A first for Southeast Asia: An Olympic figure skater". CNN.
  5. ↑ Leyba, Olmin (April 25, 2013). "PH skater chases Olympic dream". The Philippine Star. abs-cbnnews.com.
  6. 1 2 "Michael Christian MARTINEZ: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 Flade, Tatjana (September 2, 2012). "Martinez puts the Philippines on the map for figure skating". Golden Skate.
  8. ↑ "Nebelhorn Trophy - Olympic Qualifying Event - Review". International Skating Union. September 28, 2013.
  9. ↑ Orendain, Simone (January 15, 2014). "Filipino figure skater who can't always afford coach turns to prayer". Catholic News Service. Catholic Register.
  10. ↑ McCarvel, Nicholas (February 5, 2014). "Michael Christian Martinez, figure skater from the Philippines, makes Olympic history". NBC.
  11. ↑ "Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014: Men's result". International Skating Union. February 14, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Men Free Skating". Sochi2014.com. February 14, 2014.
  13. ↑ "MVP Sports Foundation grants $10k bonus for Michael Christian Martinez". Interaksyon. February 15, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Martinez named adopted son of Pasay". ABS-CBN News. February 25, 2014.
  15. ↑ Tagala, Don (June 5, 2014). "PH Olympian Michael Martinez levels up with new coach". ABS-CBN News.
  16. ↑ "July 10, 2014" (PDF).
  17. ↑ "ISU GP 2014 Hilton HHonors Skate America – Men Short Program – Judges Details Per Skater" (PDF). ISU Results. International Skating Union. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  18. ↑ "ISU GP 2014 Hilton HHonors Skate America – Men Free Skating – Judges Details Per Skater" (PDF). ISU Results. International Skating Union. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  19. ↑ "ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating – 2014 Hilton HHonors Skate America – Men – Result". ISU Results. International Skating Union. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  20. ↑ "Warsaw Cup 2014 – Men – Final Results". ISU Results. International Skating Union. 23 November 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  21. ↑ Slater, Paula (24 September 2015). "Martinez remains optimistic despite injury". Golden Skate.
  22. ↑ Henson, Joaquin (17 April 2016). "Martinez ends ISU season on high note". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  23. ↑ "Michael Christian MARTINEZ: 2014/2015". International Skating Union.
  24. ↑ "Michael Christian MARTINEZ: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014.
  25. ↑ http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/06/05/14/ph-olympian-michael-martinez-levels-new-coach
  26. ↑ "Michael Christian MARTINEZ: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 15, 2014.
  27. ↑ "Michael Christian MARTINEZ: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 8, 2013.
  28. ↑ "Michael Christian MARTINEZ: 2010/2011". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 29, 2010.
  29. 1 2 3 "Competition Results: Michael Christian MARTINEZ". International Skating Union.
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Olympic Games
Preceded by
Hidilyn Diaz		 Flagbearer for  Philippines
Sochi 2014 		Succeeded by
Ian Lariba
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