Michael Christian Martinez

Filipino figure skater Michael Christian Martinez was born on November 4, 1996, in Parañaque, Philippines, and is the first Southeast Asian figure skater to qualify for the Winter Olympics. He was the only athlete from the Philippines who competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi where he was also the flag bearer. At 17, he was the youngest in the men's figure skating event where he accomplished his goal of making it to the free skate, eventually finishing 19th.

That he became an Olympic figure skater is a tribute to his determination considering the odds against him. First of all, he suffers from asthma and took up figure skating because it was found to have improved his condition. Second, the Philippines is a tropical country, and Michael in fact learned to figure skate in an ice rink located in a shopping mall. The cost of figure skating is also a constraint although Michael was able to gain a major sponsor, the retail giant SM, after his results in Sochi.

Michael now sets his sights in competing in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and after that, the Southeast Asian Games in Manila before hanging up his skates.

He is known for his flexibility as seen in his beautiful Biellmann spin and spirals.

It is so exciting when a skater succeeds in overcoming the difficulties of reaching the elite levels in figure skating from one of the small federations! Michael Christian Martinez of the Philippines is a wonderful young skater whose spins and style are amazing

Excerpt by Maria Victoria

April 10, 2016 UPDATE​

Michael Christian Martinez

Bios and Profiles
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Christian_Martinez
Tracings.net: http://tracings.net/mart-mich.html
ISU Results: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00012802.htm
Rink Results profile: http://www.rinkresults.com/skater?skater_id=717

Social Media
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelOlympian
Instagram: https://instagram.com/martinezfrost3/

Fan Media
Network: https://twitter.com/TropicalFrost
Twitter: http://tropicalfrost.tistory.com/
YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TropicalFrostPH/feed

PROGRAMS
COMPETITIVE RESULTS
2015-2016


2014-2015

2013-2014

2012-2013

2011-2012

2010-2011

GOLDEN SKATE ARTICLES AND THREADS

Thread: Michael Christian Martinez inspires FS in his Country
Feb. 2014: http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...Christian-Martinez-inspires-FS-in-his-Country

Sept. 2012: Article: "Martinez puts the Philippines on the map for figure skating" by Tatjana Flajde
http://www.goldenskate.com/2012/09/martinez-puts-the-philippines-on-the-map-for-figure-skating/
Associated Thread: Sept 2012: http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...the-Philippines-on-the-map-for-figure-skating

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS

November 2015: Martinez faces stiff opposition in China
http://www.philstar.com/sports/2015/11/02/1517463/martinez-faces-stiff-opposition-china

July 2015: Martinez Sets Lofty Goals
http://www.philstar.com/sports/2015/07/04/1473106/martinez-sets-lofty-goals

Manila on ice: YOG athlete Michael Christian Martinez creates history for the Philippines
http://www.olympic.org/news/manila-...ez-creates-history-for-the-philippines/224651

Body Talk with Michael Christian Martinez
http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2015/03/09/1431413/body-talk-michael-christian-martinez

Martinez advances to [2015 WC] freeskate
http://www.philstar.com/sports/2015/03/29/1438791/martinez-advances-freeskate

MCM bags gold Slovena skating tilt
http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/michael-christian-martinez-bags-gold-in-slovenia-skating-tilt

PHL figure skater Michael Martinez advances to next round in Olympics
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/stor...l-martinez-advances-to-next-round-in-olympics

Martinez finishes 19th at Winter Olympics figure skating finale
http://www.rappler.com/sports/speci...akes-early-lead-in-mens-figure-skating-finale

MCM to compete in Grand Prix of Figure Skating
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/stor...ez-to-compete-in-grand-prix-of-figure-skating

A first for Southeast Asia: An Olympic figure skater
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/12/world/asia/philippines-figure-skater/




NEWS VIDEOS-YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/fsmichaelmartinez/videos
-Michael Christian Martinez, wins gold from his 3rd Senior International Ice Skating Competition
-Olympian Michael Martinez arrives from Sochi
-Pinoy figure skater dreams big in Sochi, Russia

just bumped into his facebook, he is gaining followers now
though I assume most are a bit delusional, gold for Sochi ?
I think its safe to say most of the followers are FS newbies but that's ok, for a pioneering FS country
his country could potentially see a new FS boom followers like in Korea

I think he has potential maybe Top 10 or 15 in 2018 Olympics
he is regarded as the Philippine's "Kim Yuna" version for his ubers

facebook fan page:
https://www.facebook.com/MichaelChristianMartinezOfficialFanPage

sky_fly20 said:

just bumped into his facebook, he is gaining followers now
though I assume most are a bit delusional, gold for Sochi ?
I think its safe to say most of the followers are FS newbies but that's ok, for a pioneering FS country
his country could potentially see a new FS boom followers like in Korea

I think he has potential maybe Top 10 or 15 in 2018 Olympics
he is regarded as the Philippine's "Kim Yuna" version for his ubers

facebook fan page:
https://www.facebook.com/MichaelChristianMartinezOfficialFanPage

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Awesome! I noticed him earlier, while looking for young upcoming skaters.
He's really flexible!

Have anyone watch Martinez (new short?) program with bohemian rhapsody yet? I really like it, he has so much potential and could be really really big given proper training.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_ysEsHMgOg

OMG! That's actually pretty good! I love how he uses his arms A lot of potential indeed! Also, his Beilmann is so- wow! it's even better than Yuzu's!

treeloving said:

Have anyone watch Martinez (new short?) program with bohemian rhapsody yet? I really like it, he has so much potential and could be really really big given proper training.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_ysEsHMgOg

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Is this a new rink? It is not the same one from MOA or South Mall.

I don't think this is his new program. It was his exhibition program from last year.

I could be wrong, but that looks like the ice rink in SM Megamall.

Link to news report that Philippine retail giant SM will support Michael's training for the 2018 Olympics:

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/04/21/14/sm-vows-support-michael-martinez-olympics-bid

There was a discussion in another thread of how much it costs a topflight skater for training, etc. with $160,000 being a low estimate per Patrick Chan's father so I'm glad SM has vowed to help out Michael financially. We may see Michael as the Philippines's first Winter Olympics medalist yet.

Maria Victoria said:

Link to news report that Philippine retail giant SM will support Michael's training for the 2018 Olympics:

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/04/21/14/sm-vows-support-michael-martinez-olympics-bid

There was a discussion in another thread of how much it costs a topflight skater for training, etc. with $160,000 being a low estimate per Patrick Chan's father so I'm glad SM has vowed to help out Michael financially. We may see Michael as the Philippines's first Winter Olympics medalist yet.

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Congratulation to Michael. Wish him good luck for his future.

Maria Victoria said:

Link to news report that Philippine retail giant SM will support Michael's training for the 2018 Olympics:

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/04/21/14/sm-vows-support-michael-martinez-olympics-bid

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WOAH. Having one of Philippine's richest companies as a sponsor is amazing! I'm excited to see what's next for him in the upcoming years

wow! that is great news, I wonder if we can send him to Canada too, haha

foruiz said:

wow! that is great news, I wonder if we can send him to Canada too, haha

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I wonder about that too. I think there is one of the coach there who is Filipino. I saw many YouTube's video of him handles the Harness at the Cricket club

^It would be a dream come true if Michael will be able to train beside Yuzuru in Toronto, but I think right now with Javier and Nam also under him, Brian Orser already has his hands full.

My wish for Michael is that he will be able to be matched with a coach who can take him to the next level as Brian Orser did Yuzuru.

Here's a link to a recent article on Michael: http://www.illustradolife.com/?p=8977.

There he describes himself thus: "I am an ordinary kid who loves to sing, dance, draw and make origami. I was born asthmatic. I literally grew up in the hospital and I still have asthma until now. But my sickness doesn’t deter me from pursuing my Olympic dream – in a sport that is not even common in a tropical country like the Philippines."

That's true Maria Victoria... I guess Orser's hands are full right now... and there is no more space left for an extra Disney character, haha!

I have the same wish for him too, I hope he gets to work on his quads and land them perfectly at the soonest as the other juniors are ahead of him in terms of that aspect. But it was great that he beat Hino and Tanaka in Triglav, not that I don't love Team Japan since I really do, haha. Anyway, he is half Japanese so I might just consider him as a pseudo member. Thanks for the link as well!

foruiz said:

That's true Maria Victoria... I guess Orser's hands are tied full right now... and there is no more space left for an extra Disney character, haha!

I have the same wish for him too, I hope he gets to work on his quads and land them perfectly at the soonest as the other juniors are ahead of him in terms of that aspect. But it was great that he beat Hino and Taka in Triglav, not that I don't love Team Japan since I really do, haha. Anyway, he is half Japanese so I might just consider him as a pseudo member. Thanks for the link as well!

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half Japanese ? source pls

sky_fly20 said:

half Japanese ? source pls

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I read that from a local newspaper (The Philippine Star), unfortunately I cannot seem to find the same news clip in their website.

Anyway in a tweet by Filipino sports journalist Quinito Henson (@TheDeanQuinito) he says "Figure skater Michael Martinez' mom Tess, a single parent, deserves credit for her son's rise-she raised him well, Michael is half-Japanese" This is his tweet dated 12:17 PM - 23 Feb 2014.

^Quinito usually has his facts straight.

Michael's being half Japanese may explain why making origami is one of his favorite hobbies. Now I'm thinking that if he makes it to the elite level of skating, because of his Japanese heritage, like the Shibutanis and Mirai Nagasu, he may get invited to the ice shows in Japan where he and Yuzuru can perform their Biellmann spins side by side. OK I'm thinking too far ahead, but I really hope for great things for Michael.

Maria Victoria said:

^Quinito usually has his facts straight.

Michael's being half Japanese may explain why making origami is one of his favorite hobbies. Now I'm thinking that if he makes it to the elite level of skating, because of his Japanese heritage, like the Shibutanis and Mirai Nagasu, he may get invited to the ice shows in Japan where he and Yuzuru can perform their Biellmann spins side by side. OK I'm thinking too far ahead, but I really hope for great things for Michael.

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He should market himself more in Japan then
but good for him,

maybe being invited in some Japanese Tour/Shows will also generate some additional funding for his skating career

Yay finally a Michael thread!

I got up to see the first flight because of him and I was not disappointed. He looked so lonely at times, not only as the only Filipino skater at the olympics but the only Filipino athlete at the winter olympics. I really like his fighting spirit and he has a lot of what I feel as unharnessed potential. With a good coach, he may have a chance at finishing top 10 maybe even to 5 next olympics. That would be nice at least.

I'm glad he's getting more attention and sponsors, it's definitely worth an investment in a young talent that is so promising.

That is true, I also hope that the support that he gets does not waver until the next quad and beyond. MCM participating in ice shows will be a good idea. Ir will also serve as a good practice for him this off-season, too. And since he can't do quads yet, that idea on a Biellman battle with Yuzu will do.