Martinez driven in Olympic quest

MANILA, Philippines - Figure skater Michael Martinez said the other day what drives him to go the extra mile in excelling on ice is love of country and now that he’s ranked No. 27 in the world, the pathway is clearing for a second trip to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in 2018.

Martinez, 17, and his mother Maria Teresa are scheduled to leave Manila for Los Angeles today. They share a small room in a friend’s apartment in Anaheim where Martinez prefers to train because of the rink facilities and coaching available. In his tournament calendar this year is the first leg of the Grand Prix series where the world’s top skaters are expected to gather.

Only 12 skaters were picked to compete in the first leg in Illinois this October and Martinez is the first Filipino ever to receive an invitation. The winners of each of the six Grand Prix legs will vie for the championship in the December finals. Martinez is fresh from bagging the gold medal at the Triglav Cup in Jesenice, Slovenia, last April, beating second placer Kenji Tanaka and third placer Ryuju Hino. There were six countries represented in the senior division where Martinez was one of seven contenders. Martinez compiled 195.13 points in the short and free programs to capture the gold way ahead of Tanaka’s 189.83 and Hino’s 183.06.

“Triglav is a tough competition,” said Martinez. “I never expected to win because I’ve lost to Kenji and Ryuji before. I couldn’t practice the day of the tournament because of no ice time and I only practiced 30 minutes the day before. But I was determined and confident. I couldn’t compete at the World Juniors after the Sochi Olympics because I was asked to return home and I still needed to do therapy for my knee, back and ankles. I was fifth at the last World Juniors so I was excited to try for a top three finish. The age limit for the World Juniors is 19 so I can still qualify to compete next year but I’m now being asked to focus on the seniors level.”

Last Friday, Martinez and his mother signed a four-year contract extension with SM. Martinez previously inked a 1 1/2 year agency contract for P1 Million with total exclusivity ceded to SM. In the extension, no money has yet been released as signatures of top SM executives are still in process. The new contract stipulates exclusivity only to SM brands and will allow Martinez to endorse non-competing products.

Martinez’ mother said she is also awaiting reimbursement of the two plane tickets she bought for Sochi. “We couldn’t wait for the POC and PSC to pay for our tickets because we had to be in Russia a month before to train with coach Viktor (Kudriavstev),” she said. “So I advanced the payment of $3,500 for our two tickets. I couldn’t even pay Viktor his fee right away and asked if he could accept my IOU. Fortunately, Viktor agreed because I think he was excited to work with Michael. A few hours before Michael stepped on the ice for his first program, the PSC sent Viktor’s fee in the nick of time. In Sochi, we were strapped for cash because we couldn’t pay for things by credit card. The MVP Sports Foundation came to our rescue and sent over the equivalent of P500,000. Then, after the competition, MVP (PLDT chairman Manny V. Pangilinan) gave Michael a $10,000 bonus.”

Martinez’ mother said ice skating is an expensive sport. “Our annual budget is about P9 Million for Michael to compete in six events,” she explained. “The allocation for each event is at least $9,000. That includes entry fee, air fare and living expenses. You have to factor in the fees for a choreographer. Right now, the going rate for a 2:50 program to choreograph is anywhere between $5,000 to $10,000 in the US. In Europe, the rate is $10,000 to $15,000. Coaches charge by the hour and the rate ranges from $100 to $150. Michael trains at least three hours a day on ice and ice time is between $12 to $16 an hour. He works with two coaches Ilya Kulik and John Nicks. Michael and I stay in one bedroom in an apartment owned by a friend. We have friends in the US who help us to raise funds. For instance, our Fil-Am friend does fund-raising zumba events in Carson City. Everyone is chipping in because the community knows how hard Michael is training and how talented he is. Everyone wants to see him win an Olympic medal.”

Martinez said the ice skating season is from August to April. Because of budget constraints, his training is sporadic. “He could’ve done better in Sochi if his training was continuous,” said his mother. “But we lacked support. Since Michael began to represent the Philippines in 2009, he has never received a monthly allowance or medical benefits like other national athletes. After Sochi, Muntinlupa Mayor (Jaime) Fresnedi gave a total of P350,000. We’ll be very thankful if the reimbursement for the Sochi flight tickets could be released soon.”

Martinez has his sights set on competing at the World Figure Skating Championships in Helsinki in February 2017. That will determine the number of entries for each country at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

“My ultimate dream is to win an Olympic medal for our country,” he said. “I never expected to receive such a warm welcome when I came home from Sochi. It was overwhelming. In Sochi, I had one hand on ice after attempting a triple loop halfway through the free program but I was determined to bounce back and immediately did a triple axel. I think in figure skating, it’s 60 percent mental and 40 percent physical. You have to be mentally tough to survive slips or whatever and bring yourself back up in contention.”

Martinez said he’s now working on perfecting the quadruple jump with four rotations in the air. “My goal is to set a high level of performance,” he said. “The triple axel of 3 1/2 rotations in the air is something everybody does now. The quadruple jump is also becoming common with elite skaters. With my coaches in the US, I’m working on polishing my technique. I still need to improve on my speed and balance. The next Olympics is still four years away but the work to prepare for Pyeongchang must start now.”