Malaysian skater overtakes Martinez

MANILA, Philippines - In a duel that is expected to reach a crescendo at the coming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur, Olympic figure skater Michael Martinez was overtaken by Malaysian rival Julien Yee in the final standings at the Asian Winter Games in Sapporo last Sunday.          

Martinez, 20, took seventh place and Yee, 19, was 10th after the short program at the Makomanai Ice Arena last Friday but the Malaysian turned in a strong performance in the freeskate to finish eighth overall. Yee scored 222.69 points broken down into 72.75 in the short program and 149.94 in the freeskate to push Martinez down to ninth with a total of 211.96 from 76.53 in the short program and 135.43 in the freeskate. The other Filipino bet Jules Alpe finished 17th of 21 with 128.41 points. Another Malaysian Xiang Chew Kai wound up 14th with 168.42.

Japan’s Shoma Uno took the gold with 281.27 points while China’s Jin Boyang settled for the silver with 280.08 and China’s Yan Han the bronze with 271.86. In the women’s division, South Korea’s Choi Dabin captured the gold with 187.54 points, China’s Li Zijun the silver with 175.6 and Kazakhstan’s Elizabet Tursynbaeva the bronze with 175.04. Filipina skaters finished in the bottom half as Samantha Cabiles landed 15th with 83.65 points and Shayane Casapao 19th with 70.99.  There were 21 skaters from 12 countries in the men’s division and 24 from 14 nations in the women’s division.

Martinez was impressive in the short program with a career-high 76.53 and since No. 5 Brendan Kerry wasn’t eligible for a medal as Australia was a guest country, had to outperform only three of five skaters for a bronze finish. But in the freeskate, Martinez dropped to ninth, scoring 63.3 in technical elements and 73.4 in presentation. Martinez was impeccable in the early stage then turned unusually shaky. He wobbled from a series of spins and touched the ice with his hand on another landing before taking a tumble off a triple lutz. Martinez recovered quickly from the fall, getting up gracefully like nothing happened and capped the routine with a multiple spin as his right leg was raised behind his head, his two hands holding the strap of the skate at the back. Bouquets were thrown onto the ice as fans applauded Martinez after his performance.

Martinez said he’s excited to make his SEA Games debut in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 19-31. No doubt, he’ll be pushed to the limit by Yee and Kai, the hometowners who are conspiring to derail his medal hopes. At the World Championships last year, Yee outscored Martinez in the short program, 67.6 to 66.98, but fell to No. 21 as the Filipino improved to No. 19 after the freeskate. They’ll face off again at the World Championships in Helsinki on March 29-April 2.