Martinez aims to land quads

MANILA, Philippines – Figure skater Michael Martinez has set a lofty goal of landing two quad variations in time for the next World Championships in Helsinki on March 29-April 2 and will leave for the US this week to resume training under Ukrainian Slava Zahorodnyuk in Lake Forest, California.

Martinez, 19, performed in an ice show and conducted a two-day camp at the SM Seaside City in Cebu over the weekend. Two weeks ago, he did two shows at SM Megamall and presided in a three-day camp at the MOA rink. Last April, Martinez ended the figure skating season with an impressive, no-deduction 19th place finish at the World Championships in Boston. He competed in seven tournaments, bagging a gold at the Asian Trophy in the process, and wound up No. 29 in the International Skating Union rankings.

Since breaking into the major circuit four years ago, Martinez has never attempted a quad. He said it’s time to scale up the degree of difficulty in his routine with several competitions in line for 2016-17, including the Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan, on Feb. 19-26.

“I’ve been focusing on my quad jumps with Slava,” said Martinez referring to the 43-year-old Ukrainian who placed first at the 1989 World Junior Championships and the 1996 European Championships and third at the 1994-95 World Championships. “I’m completing the rotation of the quads but still working on my landing. There are three basic quad jumps, the toe loop, Salchow and loop. You’re never sure about landing from a quad because ice conditions vary. Slava is an expert in quad jumps and I’m working on executing the quad toe loop and loop which is the hardest variation. My target is to perfect my quads for the World Championships where the top 24 will qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.”

Figure skating will welcome 30 qualifiers at the Winter Olympics with 24 coming from the World Championships and six more from a qualifying event, traditionally at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany. While the ISU has not confirmed the qualifier at Nebelhorn, the German competition was the qualifying event for the last two Winter Olympics.

Martinez said he will also perform for the Philippines at the Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 19-31 next year. As his schedule fills up, Martinez said he’s looking forward to his first competition this season – the Asian Trophy, where he is the defending champion, in Manila on Aug. 4-7.

“I did seven competitions last season, the most I’ve ever done,” said Martinez. “I hope to compete in at least six Grand Prix events, the World Championships and the Asian Winter Games this season. The Grand Prix events are by invitation only so you can’t be sure if you’ll be invited. I’m training in the gym and practicing on ice every day to get ready for a busy schedule. I want to increase my weight from 149 to about 155 which is my target. I used to be 135. I’m taking in at least 5,000 calories a day. I’m building my stamina resistance and energy. I need to be stronger to withstand the impact of landing quads on my body.”

Martinez said he plans to relocate from Anaheim to New Jersey this season so he’s closer to where his Russian coach and choreographer Nikolai Morozov is based. It was Morozov who arranged his new music for the season, “Emerald Tiger” by electric violinist Vanessa Mae in the short program and “Nella Fantasia” by English singer Russell Watson in freeskate. Martinez will also work with Morozov’s associate Andrew Lavrik, a skating skills coach and ice dancing specialist.

“I wouldn’t be able to do this and live my dream without the support of the SM Group, particularly Sir Hans (Sy),” said Martinez. “Figure skating is a very demanding sport and international exposure in competition and training is essential to improve. For the last season, my ranking was up to No. 23 before settling at No. 29. My placing improved from No. 21 to No. 19 at the World Championships. It’s hard to get commitments from expert coaches to join you for competitions all over the world. At the last World Championships, I worked with coach Igor Samohin for the first time. I hope this season, I’ll be able to work closely with my coaches for every competition.”