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By ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Tuesday, April 4, 2017
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Filipino figure skater Michael Christian Martinez performs his routine during the men’s free skating event of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Helsinki, Finland.PHOTO BY DANIELLE EARL PHOTOGRAPHY
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MANILA – The qualification slot of Filipino figure skater Michael Christian Martinez for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea is not yet final, clarified a national sports governing body on late Sunday.
According to Philippine Skating Union (PHSU), figure skating’s national sports association, Martinez fell short on the Olympics ticket due to a technicality in the new rules.
Based on ISU (International Skating Union) regulations, countries that have two qualifiers in the top 13 are allowed to add another athlete, giving Japan another slot while potentially bumping off Martinez.
“Yes, Michael finished at the top 24 at Worlds but with other countries earning multiple spots, the 24 spots were quickly filled,” the PHSU wrote on its Twitter account on Sunday night.
On Saturday, it was announced that the Martinez had qualified to Winter Olympics after collecting a total of 196.79 points to finish 24th overall in the free skate round of the 2017 World Figure Skating Championships in Helsinki, Finland.
Martinez, a 2015 Asian Figure Skating Trophy champion, two-time Triglav Trophy champion and silver medalist in the 2014 Warsaw Cup, advanced to the final round of the World Championships after making the cut in the men’s short program on Thursday.
South Korea could be the second Winter Olympics stint for the 20-year-old Martinez after becoming the first Filipino figure-skating Olympian in the 2014 Sochi Games, where he finished 19th.
With the outcome, the Muntinlupa City-native Martinez is now training his sights on the next qualifying event in September, the Nebelhorn Trophy Germany, where only six slots will be up for grabs./PN
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