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 Martinez in 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michael Christian Martinez | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | Mikee Martinez | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1996-11-04)November 4, 1996 (age 29) Parañaque, Philippines | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Muntinlupa, Philippines | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Philippines | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Nikolai Morozov | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Skating club | Metro ISC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Began skating | 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Michael Christian "Mikee" Martinez (born November 4, 1996) is a FilipinoOlympicfigure skater. He is the 2015Asian Figure Skating Trophy champion, a two-timeTriglav Trophy champion and has won oneISU Challenger Series medal, silver at the 2014Warsaw Cup. Martinez is the first skater fromSoutheast Asia and from atropical country to qualify for theOlympics, was the only athlete to represent thePhilippines at the2014 Winter Olympics, and was one of only two to represent thePhilippines at the 2018 Winter Olympics.[1]
Martinez was born on November 4, 1996, inParañaque,[2] the youngest of three children.[3] He began experiencing asthmaticbronchitis at two months old and was frequently in the hospital.[2] Although a cold rink initially had a detrimental effect, he stated in 2014 that, "year after year my health keeps improving, so my mother fully supported me to continue skating. She said it's better to spend the money on skating than in the hospital."[4] Martinez graduated from high school in 2013.[5]
Martinez began skating in 2005 at theSM Southmall ice rink.[6] In 2009, he missed two months after a skating blade cut his thigh.[2] In addition to training inManila, in 2010 he began spending several months a year inCalifornia,United States working withJohn Nicks andIlia Kulik.[4][7]
Martinez debuted on theISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) series in the 2010–11 season. In 2011, he tore twoligaments in his ankle, leading to three months of recovery.[2] In April 2012, he tore amedial ligament in his knee and was off the ice for three months.[2][7]
Martinez landed his first tripleAxel jump in competition at a2012 JGP event inLake Placid, New York.[7] He placed 6th at a JGP competition inZagreb, Croatia.
At the 2012Crystal Skate of Romania, Martinez won his first senior international title, also a first for the Philippines. He finished fifth in his second appearance at the2013 World Junior Figure Skating Championships and set a new personal-best overall score of 191.64 points. A fractured ankle kept him off the ice for two months in 2013.[2]
Martinez started his season at the2013 JGP Latvia where he finished 4th. He then competed on the senior level at the2013 Nebelhorn Trophy, the last qualifying event for the2014 Winter Olympics. He finished 7th and earned a spot for the Philippines in men's singles — a first for his country.[8] Martinez then competed at the2013 JGP Estonia and won his first JGP medal, a bronze. In January 2014, he received treatment for an inflamed knee.[9] He withdrew from the2014 Four Continents Championships but competed atSkate Helena and took the gold medal.
The first skater in the Winter Olympics to come fromSoutheast Asia, Martinez was also the only athlete representing the Philippines at the2014 Winter Olympics inSochi and served as his country'sflagbearer at the opening ceremony.Viktor Kudriavtsev coached him for one month leading up to the Olympics.[10] At theOlympics, Martinez qualified for thefree skate after placing 19th in theshort program with a score of 64.81 points, a season best. He scored 119.44 in the free skate and finished 19th overall with a total score of 184.25.[11][12]
MVP Sports Foundation supported the skater and announced a bonus of $10,000 after the Olympics.[13] He was named an adopted son ofPasay by Mayor Antonino Calixto.[14]
Recovering from a recurring knee injury after the Olympics, Martinez was replaced byChristopher Caluza at the2014 World Championships. He returned to competition in April at theTriglav Trophy, where he won the gold medal. In June 2014, he began training atHackensack, New Jersey's Ice House, under the guidance ofNikolai Morozov.[15]
Making hisISU Challenger Series (CS) debut, Martinez finished sixth overall at theLombardia Trophy. He was assigned to his first senior Grand Prix event, the2014 Skate America.[16] In his short program, he fell on his triple Axel, but landed all his other jumps and received level fours on his camel spin, his flying sit spin, and his step sequence; he finished ninth.[17] He also placed ninth in the free skate, falling on his triple Axel, under-rotating his triple toe in the triple Lutz-triple toe combination, and stepping out in his double Axel towards the end of the program.[18] Martinez finished tenth overall.[19]
In November 2014, Martinez competed at the CSWarsaw Cup where he won the silver medal behind Russia'sAlexander Petrov. Martinez posted new personal-best scores with a total of 213.38 points.[20] Martinez competed in his first Worlds at the2015 World Championships, finishing in 21st position.
Martinez withdrew from several summer competitions due to ongoing therapy and rehabilitation for his spine. He also was unable to compete at the2015 CS U.S. International Classic due to acute asthma.[21]
He started his season by winning gold at the 2015Asian Figure Skating Trophy, becoming the first Filipino to win the event. He then competed at2015 Cup of China where he finished 6th with a new personal-best overall score of 220.36 points. He placed 4th at the2015 CS Warsaw Cup and 7th at the2015 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.
Martinez went on to achieve his best placements at seniorISU Championships. In February, he finished 9th out of 23 competitors at the2016 Four Continents Championships inTaipei. Competing a month later at the2016 World Championships inBoston, he finished 19th out of 30 competitors. Due to inconsistency in training, he dropped his original plan of including aquad jump, deciding to include the jump the following season.[22]
At the2017 Four Continents Championships, Martinez placed 14th in the short program, free skate and overall. At the2017 Asian Winter Games, a multi-sport event held every four years, he placed 7th in the short program, 9th in the free skate, and 9th overall.[citation needed] At the2017 World Championships, Martinez placed 24th in the short program and free skate, as well as overall.[23]
At the2017 Southeast Asian Games, Martinez won silver behind Malaysia'sJulian Yee.[24] In September, he placed 8th at the2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, the finalqualifying opportunity for the 2018 Winter Olympics.[25] Due to his result, his country did not qualify in figure skating but finished as the first alternate.[26] Sometime after the Nebelhorn Trophy competition, considering the end of hissponsorship, he decided to retire from figure skating to return to business law studies and be assistant in aLaw Office,[27] altogether withbody building, bulking up to 75 kg (165 lb) from his usual 66 kg (146 lb).[28]
In January 2018, after Sweden relinquished its Olympic spot, it was transferred to the Philippines, allowing Martinez to compete in South Korea.[26] He returned to training under coachSlava Zagor and adopted a crash diet, managing to reduce his weight to 68 kg (150 lb). The short program of the figure skatingmen's singles at the2018 Winter Olympics was contested on February 16, 2018. Martinez was the sixth to perform, skating to the tune of “Emerald Tiger” byVanessa-Mae, garnering a total of 55.56 points[28] finishing 28th out of 30 competitors.[29] He failed to advance to the free skate after not placing among the top 24.[28] Had he advanced, he planned skate to the songs “El Tango de Roxanne” fromMoulin Rouge! and “Tango de los Exilados” in the free skate program, which were the same songs he used in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.[30]
Despite failing to advance, Tom Carrasco, thechef de mission of Philippine delegation to the Games remarked that Martinez did his best given the skater's "condition and circumstances" and the official relayed that Zagor described Martinez's short program as "not a bad performance".[28]
After the Pyeongchang stint, Martinez said he will not retire and will just rest for a short while. He has stated that he will prepare for the2019 Southeast Asian Games.[31] Though in September 2018, Martinez's break from the sport has been described as an indefinite leave with no time table on when he will resume skating.[32] He also went on to become a coach and a social media influencer in the United States; he has been occasionally frequenting the country since 2010.[33]
Martinez did not participate in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, with the Philippine Skating Union saying that he declined take part in the national qualifiers.[34] However it was later reported that his non-participation was due to a miscommunication between Martinez and the sports federation.[33]
Though in 2019, he didn't engage in competitive skating, Martinez maintained his fitness by doing workouts and routines. By December 2019, Martinez is already part of a new management team, DigiStar PH. It is reported that he will resume training in 2020.[35]
Martinez remarked that he has made mistakes in his life and vowed to return to competitive skating intending to qualify for the2022 Winter Olympics. He began training with New Jersey–based Russian coachNikolai Morozov. However amidst to theCOVID-19 pandemic, Martinez has returned to the Philippines in June 2020 where his training was limited to outside the skating rink due to pandemic-related measures. His immediate goal is to qualify for the2021 World Figure Skating Championships[33] but was not able to do so.
On April 7, 2021, Martinez declared himself to be "officially back on ice" and plans to join theCS Nebelhorn Trophy in September 2021 as part of a bid to qualify for the2022 Winter Olympics. He started a fundraising for his campaign[36] with his management team, Virtual Playground and the Philippine Skating Federation helping him secure sponsors.[37]
ThePhilippine Skating Union (PhSU) is limited to one entry for each gender for the Nebelhorn Trophy, with Martinez having to contend against Christopher Caluza and Edrian Celestino for the berth in the federation's Olympic Qualifier Evaluation.[38] However due to an injury, Martinez decided foregoing his bid to qualify for the Nebelhorn Trophy, consequentially for the Winter Olympics.[39]
The PhSU offered Martinez a coaching job, after an exodus of its coaches due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Martinez was initially reluctant but accepted the offer. He is now coaching with SM Supermalls as of October 2022.[40][41] He has coached before for around four years in the United States.[42]
Martinez expressed willingness to return to competing but has find himself focusing on his coaching role.[42]
| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–2022 [43] |
|
| |
| 2017–2018 [44][45] |
|
| |
| 2016–2017 [46] |
|
| |
| 2015–2016 [47] |
| ||
| 2014–2015 [48] | |||
| 2013–2014 [50] |
|
|
|
| 2012–2013 [51] |
| ||
| 2010–2012 [6][52] |
|
|
GP:Grand Prix; CS:Challenger Series; JGP:Junior Grand Prix
| International[53] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 10–11 | 11–12 | 12–13 | 13–14 | 14–15 | 15–16 | 16–17 | 17–18 | 21–22 |
| Olympics | 19th | 28th | |||||||
| Worlds | 21st | 19th | 24th | ||||||
| Four Continents | 16th | WD | WD | 9th | 14th | ||||
| GPCup of China | 6th | ||||||||
| GPSkate America | 10th | ||||||||
| CSCup of Austria | 23rd | ||||||||
| CSFinlandia | 9th | 24th | |||||||
| CSGolden Spin | 6th | 7th | |||||||
| CSLombardia | 6th | ||||||||
| CSNebelhorn | 8th | ||||||||
| CSWarsaw Cup | 2nd | 4th | |||||||
| Asian Trophy | 1st | ||||||||
| Asian Games | 9th | ||||||||
| Crystal Skate | 1st | ||||||||
| Nebelhorn | 7th | ||||||||
| New Year's Cup | 3rd | ||||||||
| NRW Trophy | 13th | ||||||||
| Skate Helena | 1st | ||||||||
| SEA Games | 2nd | ||||||||
| Triglav Trophy | 1st | 1st | |||||||
| U.S. Classic | 6th | ||||||||
| Volvo Open Cup | 4th | 5th | |||||||
| International: Junior or novice[53] | |||||||||
| Junior Worlds | 15th | 5th | |||||||
| Youth Olympics | 7th | ||||||||
| JGPAustralia | 8th | ||||||||
| JGPCroatia | 6th | ||||||||
| JGPEstonia | 3rd | ||||||||
| JGPJapan | 17th | ||||||||
| JGPLatvia | 4th | ||||||||
| JGPU.S. | 4th | ||||||||
| National[53] | |||||||||
| Philippine Champs. | 3rd | 1st | |||||||
| 2021–22 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 11–14, 2021 | 2021 CS Cup of Austria | 25 57.50 | 23 108.97 | 23 166.47 |
| October 7–10, 2021 | 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy | 23 55.62 | 24 101.16 | 24 156.78 |
| 2017–18 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| September 27–30, 2017 | 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 8 67.50 | 9 124.24 | 8 191.74 |
| August 26–27, 2017 | 2017 Southeast Asian Games | 2 54.74 | 2 116.89 | 2 171.63 |
| 2016–17 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| March 29–April 2, 2017 | 2017 World Championships | 24 69.32 | 24 127.47 | 24 196.79 |
| February 23–26, 2017 | 2017 Asian Winter Games | 7 76.53 | 9 135.43 | 9 211.96 |
| February 16–19, 2017 | 2017 Four Continents Championships | 14 72.47 | 14 141.68 | 14 214.15 |
| 2015–16 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| November 27–29, 2015 | 2015 Warsaw Cup | 6 65.64 | 4 140.66 | 4 206.30 |
| November 5–8, 2015 | 2015 Cup of China | 7 72.24 | 5 148.12 | 6 220.36 |
| October 8–11, 2015 | 2015Finlandia Trophy | 7 65.18 | 9 125.36 | 9 190.54 |
| August 5–8, 2015 | 2015Asian Figure Skating Trophy | 1 72.14 | 1 116.39 | 1 188.53 |
| 2014–15 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| April 16–19, 2015 | 2015 Triglav Trophy | 5 51.68 | 1 130.16 | 1 181.84 |
| March 23–29, 2015 | 2015 World Championships | 22 67.03 | 20 125.35 | 21 192.38 |
| November 21–24, 2014 | 2014Golden Spin | 4 74.45 | 6 130.00 | 6 204.45 |
| November 21–24, 2014 | 2014Warsaw Cup | 2 73.81 | 2 139.57 | 2 213.38 |
| October 24–26, 2014 | 2014 Skate America | 9 72.81 | 9 124.77 | 10 197.58 |
| September 21–22, 2014 | 2014Lombardia Trophy | 6 67.36 | 5 132.56 | 5 199.92 |
| Olympic Games | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Flagbearer for Philippines Sochi 2014 | Succeeded by |
