Michael Christian Martinez, the lone Philippine athlete in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics made a historic run in the Figure Skating Men’s Short Program yesterday night after he impressed the judges and marched to the Top 24 Finals to be held tonight at the same venue.
Michael Christian Martinez (Photo: AFP/Interaksyon.com)
See Also: Michael Christian Martinez Performance Video in Figure Skating Short Program
The 17-year-old Filipino figure skater is even hailed by Winter Olympics TV commentators as “a really entertaining skater” prior to his routine.
Michael Martinez was fifth in the starting list of performers scoring a total of 64.81 points. The first to perform was from Canada named Liam Firus, who got one of the lowest score in the competition at 55.04 followed by Yakov Godorozha of Ukraine, Misha Ge of Uzbekistan, and Jorik Hendrickx of Belgium, the highest scorer in the first set at 72.52.
The Filipino skater, Michael Christian Martinez who is considered as the youngest to participant skates to “Romeo and Juliet” theme by Arthur Fiedler. He was able to pulled of a triple axle on his first attempt and nailed a triple loops without incident. Martinez also showcased his flexibility with a camel spin.
Michael Christian Martinez secured a spot in the Top 24 Free Program on Friday after Russian legend Evgeni Plushenko withdrew from the contest while the other contestant from Estonia, Canada, Australia and Great Britain to name a few failed to beat the Filipino’s score.
He scored a 33.31 in technical and a 31.5 in the component for a 64.81 score. The score is short of Michael’s best personal record of 67. 8 during the 2013 World Junior Championships in Milan.
Although Michael is ranked as No. 30 worldwide in International Skating Union website, he proved once and for all that he deserved a slot in the Figure Skating Event Finals.
