Martinez’s mom thanks MVP, donors

MOSCOW – The mother of figure skater Michael Christian Martinez said she is touched by the generosity of donors who extended help for her son’s historic feat in the recent Olympic Winter Games in Russia.

(Road to 2018 supplements,N-1 to 6, O-1 to 4)

Maria Teresa Martinez told The STAR that she was only able to pay the additional expenses for her son’s training when help from the MVP Foundation of businessman and sports patron Manuel Pangilinan arrived.

“With their $10,000 donation, half of our expenses at the Novogorsk Training Center were covered,” Mrs. Martinez said.

She said she had not mentioned the donation earlier because of the non-disclosure clause in the contract with the foundation.

“I only got permission to talk about it yesterday from Chot Reyes,” she said, referring to the Gilas coach.

Mrs. Martinez also expressed her gratitude to Albay province and its governor Joey Salceda for their fund-raising project “Piso Para Ki Michael.”

“We are really touched by this generosity. Even this small amount helps us morally. Knowing that there are people who want to help him, who are praying for him, is what makes Michael strong,” she said.

Mrs. Martinez is also thankful for the kindness of her son’s trainer, Russian coach Victor Kudryavtsev, who agreed to be paid later.

Highly respected for training world-class Russian figure skaters, Kudryavtsev charges a coaching fee of $360 per day.

However, additional expenses include $60 for the choreographer and $300 for the use of the private ice rink, hotel, food and therapy, totaling $700 daily during the training period at the Novogorsk Center in Moscow.

“I did not expect such expenses and could not pay for everything right away. So we are truly grateful that Victor and the choreographer generously agreed to be paid after,” recounted Mrs. Martinez.

“They worked for two weeks without being paid since they said that we should give priority to Michael’s training and only after, settle the payment. They sincerely wanted to help and I will forever be grateful to them,” she added.

Coach: Martinez has ‘unique capability’

The 76-year-old Kudryavtsev commended the 17-year-old Martinez for his talent, unique capability and hard work.

“Ever since I met Michael, I quickly noticed the boy’s talent and unique capability. He already had all the required qualities for figure skating and it was very easy to work with him,” Kudryavtsev said in Russian.

“When we first started training at Novogorsk, Michael was not in perfect form. He was coming out of an injury and he did not skate for the whole month of November,” recounted Kudryavtsev. “But we were able to prepare a lot. Michael worked hard, trained hard and skated a lot, and I am truly pleased with his 19th place finish in the Olympics.”

Martinez had originally planned to continue his training under Kudryavtsev in Moscow to prepare for the Junior World Championships to be held in Sofia, Bulgaria on March 10.

Kudryavtsev, however, expressed dismay over the decision to bring Martinez back to Manila this weekend.

“I am very distressed right now and upset that the Skating Federation has requested Martinez to return to the Philippines for a presentation. He is supposed to be using this time to prepare for the Junior World Championships. He only has two weeks left to prepare,” the Russian coach said.

“Michael is a great skater with good qualities and he is lovely to watch. He is very flexible, very expressive, but he still needs to train, to continue what we have worked on. He has to work on his quad jumps. Most of all, he has to increase his speed endurance in order to skate well throughout the whole program. And for this, he needs a very systematic and regular training.

“I believe that if Michael wants to be in the top 10 in the 2018 Olympics, it is imperative that his ranking increases with each competition. He has to work hard, really hard. I honestly think that in the Philippines, he will not be able to get the suitable training. If the quality of his training improves he has a chance,” he added.

Half-Pinay skater in Olympics

Unknown to many, Martinez is not the only skater of Filipino ancestry in the recent Winter Games.

Twenty-year-old Norwegian born Anne Line Gjersem – half of a set of twins of Pearly Bangug-Gjersem of Ilagan City, Isabela – also qualified in the Olympics.

Both Gjersem and Martinez placed seventh in the qualifying event in Germany and skated for the first time in the Olympics.

Anne had been representing Norway at the Nordic Junior World Figure Ice Skating competition grand prix since 2009, and she had been aiming to join the Olympics since that year.

She won many skating events, including a bronze medal at the Olympic Youth Festival in Poland and a gold medal in the senior level at Crystal Skate of Romania.

Anne’s twin sister Camilla is also an international skater. Camilla has been the Norwegian national champion for three years, from 2012 to 2014. – With Raymund Catindig