Martinez goes for broke

MANILA, Philippines - Olympic figure skater Michael Martinez faces a tall order as he attempts to outshine five contenders ahead of the 21-man pack in the freeskate climax at the Asian Winter Games in Sapporo today.

Martinez, 20, finished No. 7 in the short program with a career-high 76.53 points at the Makomanai Arena last Friday. Australia’s Brendan Kerry was No. 5 but isn’t eligible for a medal as his country is a guest in the event which drew 21 skaters from 12 nations. On top of the standings is China’s Jin Boyang with 92.86 points. Next are Japan’s Shoma Uno (92.43), China’s Yan Han (91.56), Japan’s Takahito Mura (90.32), Kerry, South Korea’s Kim Jin Seo (76.99), Martinez, Uzbekistan’s Misha Ge (76.18), Kazakhstan’s Denis Ten (72.98) and Malaysia’s Julian Zhi Jie Yee (72.75).

Martinez, ranked No. 37 in the International Skating Union (ISU) world ladder based on results over the last three years, was impressive in outperforming No. 12 Ten and No. 20 Ge. His previous high in the short program was 74.45 points at the Golden Spin of Zagreb in Croatia in 2014. The surprise skater was No. 44 Kim who vaulted out of nowhere to take the No. 6 spot. Another Filipino Jules Alpe had 42.38 points to drop to No. 17.

In the women’s division, Filipinas Samantha Cabiles and Sahayan Casapao were out of the top 10 in the short program. Cabiles was No. 14 with 28.54 points and Casapao, No. 18 with 24.33. There are 25 female competitors from 14 countries.

Martinez said his goal is to book a podium finish or at least, land in the top five. World No. 1 Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan opted out of the Asian Winter Games but Martinez said the field isn’t any less competitive.   He singled out Uno, Boyang, Yan, Ge and Ten as the skaters to watch in the battle for medals.

In the freeskate, Martinez will go for broke to try to break into the top three but he’s hesitant to risk a quad loop. “I’ve been doing my quad loop but we still have to see at practice if it’s worth (the risk) because it’s just a very new jump,” said Martinez who’s in Sapporo with Ukrainian coach Slava Zagorodnyuk.  Martinez’ career high in the freeskate is 148.12 points at the Audi Cup of China in 2015. If he duplicates his freeskate high today, Martinez will finish with a new career best of 224.65 points.