$10K bonus from MVP awaits Martinez

MANILA, Philippines - After making history as the first Filipino athlete to qualify for the Winter Olympics and ending up in 19th place in the men’s figure skating competition, 17-year-old Michael Christian Martinez will receive a $10,000 or almost P500,000 bonus courtesy of businessman Manuel Pangilinan.

The bonus, which is in recognition of Martinez’s “historic performance,” will be coursed through the MVP Sports Foundation (MVPSF).

In his Twitter account yesterday morning, MVPSF executive director and Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes posted: “Just emailed Mrs. Martinez that MVPSF at request of @iamMVP has authorized a bonus of US$10k in recognition of Michael’s historic performance.”

“What a brave kid, gave it all tonight. Thank you to him and his parents. Let’s continue supporting him,” Pangilinan told ABS-CBN.

Pangilinan expressed his admiration for the young skater and tweeted, “Saw our flag at the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics. Proud. Happy. Go Pinas!”

Martinez garnered 64.81 points in the short skate program Thursday night to qualify in the medal round and earned 119.44 in his free skate program Friday night for a total of 184.25 points.

It’s considered a remarkable finish from a skater coming from a tropical country like the Philippines. For his efforts, Martinez is now the new toast in Philippine sports.

Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan won the gold medal, while Patrick Chan of Canada and Denis Ten of Kazakhstan took the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

“I feel very happy and proud that I made it here in the final round of the Winter Olympic Games,” Martinez told The Associated Press in an interview after the competition.

“I feel very happy (with my performance) because I landed my triple axel during the halfway program, so that’s an improvement and I got the chance to land on some of my jumps,” he said. “My next (plan) is to qualify for the next Olympic Games and try to get a medal.”

“I see myself there. For sure I will be there,” he told the New York Times.

But the road does not end in Sochi because from there, he travels to Moscow to train for another week before heading to Bulgaria in March for the World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

He’d love to come home and celebrate. But work’s not done yet for this young skater. Still no time to party.

The 2018 Winter Games will be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Martinez made a lot of heads turn before and after he stepped on the ice of Sochi.

His image was splashed all over the front pages of Philippine newspapers and major wire services and international newspapers followed him every step of the way.

The Washington Post carried a story of him after he made it to the finals of the men’s figure skating in this Winter Olympics. After he bowed out and finished 19th in a field of 30, he landed on the New York Times.

“There’s a lot of support,” he told the New York Times.

“There’s a lot of prayers, people supporting me, comments, and they supported me from the beginning, and they believed in me for so long,” he said.

Kudos from the Palace

At Malacañang, Presidential Communications and Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said President Aquino joins the nation in congratulating Martinez.

“He has won the admiration of a proud nation that will certainly give him a rousing welcome and appropriate recognition to spur him to greater efforts,” he said.

However, Coloma did not give details as to the possible award or reward to be given to Martinez, who is also the first Southeast Asian to compete in figure skating at the Winter Olympics. – With Aurea Calica, Abac Cordero, AP