Martinez acclaimed in Finland

MANILA, Philippines - Teenaged Filipino figure skater Michael Martinez held his own against world-class veterans and gained critical acclaim for his performance even as he finished 9th of 17 in the men’s singles event at the 20th Finlandia Trophy in Espoo, Finland, last weekend.

Martinez, 19, finished 7th in the short program, performing to the music of Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, at the Barona Arena last Saturday. He gained the fourth highest score in technical ability but a slip on a second triple axel attempt resulted in a point deduction to drop him down the ladder. Still, spectators showered him with flowers and stuffed toys thrown in the rink after his routine to show their appreciation. Overseas Filipinos, flashing mini-flags, cheered wildly in the audience. Foreign fans rushed Martinez for photos and autographs as he left the ice stadium.

The other day, Martinez was featured in a full-length story written by Leena Jokinen in the Ilta-Sanomat (Evening News), the second largest newspaper in Finland. “He is the first figure skater to represent his country at the Olympics,” wrote Jokinen. “Martinez started skating 10 years ago and when it started to go well, it kind of took him away. Because the Philippines organizes only skating events for amateurs, Martinez has gone abroad for experience. He is a very polite young man. Figure skating fans already recognize him in Espoo. Martinez got an armful of flowers and stuffed animals after his performance in the short program of the Finlandia Trophy.”

After placing 7th in the short program, Martinez dropped to 9th in the freeskate last Sunday.  But he was one of only six skaters to finish the freeskate without a deduction. The flawless performance, however, wasn’t enough to push Martinez up the standings. He wound up with a total of 190.54 points. His highest career total was 213.38 which he compiled in placing second at the Warsaw Cup last year.

Topping the Finlandia Cup was Russia’s 32-year-old Konstantin Menshov who totaled 230.1 points. He executed a quadruple toe loop and quadruple Salchow in the freeskate to win the crown handily. Second placer was American Adam Rippon, 25, who performed two triple axels in the freeskate and finished with 224.18 points. In third spot was Russia’s defending champion Sergei Voronov who was first in the short program but was overshadowed in the freeskate to total 213.34. Others who finished ahead of Martinez were Timothy Dolensky of the US, Michal Brezina of the Czech Republic, Ryuju Hino of Japan, Liam Firus of Canada and Alexander Majorov of Sweden.

Martinez opened the figure skating season with back-to-back first place finishes at the Triglav Trophy in Slovenia and the Asian Open in Bangkok. The performance in Finland will go a long way in toughening Martinez for three coming competitions – the Audi Cup of China in Beijing on Nov. 6-8, the Warsaw Cup in Poland on Nov. 26-29 and the Golden Spin of Zagreb in Croatia on Dec. 2-5. Martinez said his goals are to finish in the top five at the Cup of China and top 10 at the World Championships in Boston on March 28-April 3 next year.

In Finland, Martinez amazed the crowd with his routine to the music of Beethoven’s Egmont, Op. 84 from Goethe’s 1787 play in the short program and Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 by Sergei Prokofiev from the 1935 ballet in the freeskate.

“The Finlandia Trophy was tough with at least nine skaters who are world-class, some of them with quad jumps in their program,” said Martinez’ mother Teresa who accompanied him to Espoo. “Michael didn’t bring a coach for this event. His coaches are busy with the US regional championships. With very strong opponents, he was a little worried and nervous since his technical coach was not around to guide him. Michael was in the Philippines from June to September for therapy so we could not make an advance reservation with his American coaches for Finland.”

Martinez’s mother said he didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to test himself against veterans at the Finlandia Trophy. “Michael still has back, knee and ankle issues,” she said. “While we were in the Philippines for over three months, he couldn’t train too much. When we arrived in the US on Sept. 6, he had to rush his training to get ready for the coming tough competitions. This put a lot of strain on his back, knee and ankle. Although he was hurting, Michael never took a back step. Of course, he also rests and doesn’t train when he’s badly injured but the injuries won’t go away fast and he can’t lay off skating too long because after a while, his jumps will be gone.”

Martinez’s mother said unless doctors advise total rest, he’ll continue to train and compete. “Repetitive injuries are a part of a skater’s life,” she said. “Figure skating is really a very tough sport and entails a lot of sacrifice. Even Filipino competitive skaters doing only double jumps fall a lot and get injured often. Unless his doctors consider his condition to be serious, Michael will always try his very best to train and compete even if he’s hurting.”