Martinez struggles to make cut

MANILA, Philippines -  Filipino Olympian Michael Christian Martinez barely made the cut for the men’s free skate final of the 2017 ISU World Figure Skating Championships Thursday at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland.

Martinez, the first skater from a tropical country to compete in the Winter Olympics in 2014, earned a total segment score of 69.32 points in the short program to catch the last bus to the FS program.

Only 24 of the 36 entries moved on to the second phase, where competitors will have one more crack to showcase their skills and boost their overall scores in the Winter Games-qualifying competition.

The 20-year-old Martinez, who will open Saturday’s free skate action, has a lot of catching up to do, however, as the pacesetters have set career-highs in the short program.

Defending champion Javier Fernandez of Spain hit two quadruple jumps in his routine en route to a leading 109.05. Japanese Soma Uno followed with his 104.86-point effort while three-time world champ Patrick Chan of Canada ranked third with 102.13.

Boyang Jin of China, bronze medalist in the 2016 edition, ran fourth with 98.64 as Olympic titlist Yuzuru Hanyu occupied No. 5 with 98.39.

Aside from Martinez, one other Southeast Asian bet made it to the free skate,  Malaysian Julian Jie Yee, who stood one spot ahead at 23rd with his 69.74.

Prior to the worlds, Martinez represented the country in the Asian Winter Games in Japan, where he finished seventh in the short program, ninth in free skate, and ninth overall.

World No. 37 Martinez is gunning for a strong finish as he bids to qualify for the 2018 Winter Games set in Pyeongchang, South Korea.