Martinez lands sixth in Milan Lombardia Trophy

MANILA, Philippines - Olympian Michael Martinez primed up for the tough Grand Prix series with a sixth place finish in the Lombardia Trophy topped by American Richard Dornbush in Milan, Italy last Sunday.

Martinez scored 199.92 points and wound up just above the middle of the 13 competitors in the four-day event which served as part of his buildup for the Hilton Honors Skate America in Chicago, Illinois, the first of six events making up this year’s GP series.

The Hilton Honors Skate will be held Oct. 24-26.

Dornbush ran away with the trophy with 237.78 points.

The Lombardia Trophy is Martinez’s first major international competition since clinching a gold medal in the Triglav Trophy in Slovenia last year. The competition is part of the International Skating Union (ISU) Challenger Series in Figure Skating 2014/2015 or a series of senior international skating events below the GP series that allow skaters to earn world standing points. This year, the competition drew 120 skaters from 26 nations. 

The Grand Prix is a series of senior international figure skating competitions in the 2014 to 2015 season. Medals will be awarded in the disciplines of men’s singles, ladies’ singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters will earn points based on their placement at each event and the top six in each discipline will qualify to compete at the Grand Prix Final to be held in Barcelona, Spain Dec. 11-14. Skaters earn points throughout the GP Series to qualify for the GP of Figure Skating Final.

Martinez was one of the select few invited by the organizing committee to compete in the prestigious event. Other stops include Skate Canada, Lexus Cup of China, Trophee Eric Bompard in France, Rostelecom Cup in Russia and NHK Trophy in Japan.

Organized by the ISU, the GP series sets the stage for the 2015 European, Four Continents, and World Championships. The corresponding series for junior-level skaters will be the 2014–15 ISU Junior Grand Prix.

The excellence demonstrated by skaters especially during competitions is a mark of quality that the SM Skating Rink can provide with its world-class venue and facilities. Property conglomerate SM Prime Holdings, Inc. operates skating rinks through SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc. at the SM Mega Fashion Hall in Mandaluyong, SM Mall of Asia in Pasay, and SM Southmall in Las Pinas.