Filipino figure skater hailed after reaching Sochi final

Michael_Christian_Martinez@MANILA, February 14, 2014 (AFP) – Philippine Olympic figure skater Michael Christian Martinez was hailed as a hero on Friday even as a senior sports formal denied accusations that the authorities had failed to assistance him.
The 17-yr-previous, the lone representative of the tropical state at the Sochi Video games, built heritage immediately after he certified Thursday from the men’s small program for the no cost skate on Friday, irrespective of quite a few shortcomings, together with being forced to understand his craft on a skating rink in a searching shopping mall.
Neighborhood information experiences advised his relatives had struggled to pay back for his education and that the federal government did not offer any help.
But Ricardo Garcia, chairman of the Philippine Sporting activities Commission, claimed Martinez experienced obtained sufficient financial assistance from the federal government and personal donors.
“We are very content with his performance. For a dude who acquired how to skate in the Philippines, to make it to the finals… it is actually incredible,” Garcia informed AFP.
“This is a extremely massive difficulty for us. We have an athlete who is an Olympian who created it to the final rounds,” he additional.
Some of the country’s wealthiest tycoons were being sponsoring Martinez and the countrywide skating association never questioned for extra cash for him, Garcia stated.
The Philippine Olympic Committee asked the govt for $7,200 to address some of Martinez’s further expenses but this dollars was released in December, he included.
Speaking right after his overall performance at the Iceberg Skating Palace on Friday, Martinez was elated with his general performance: “The 1st half was rather fantastic, but midway while the software I obtained out of breath, but I did my ideal all the way by way of. This is the to start with time I landed the triple axel in the 2nd 50 % of the system.”
He is currently looking in the direction of the next Winter season Games in South Korea.
“If I can get far more assist fiscally, I’m pondering about the subsequent Olympics and acquiring a medal there,” he included.
End users of social media had been agog above Martinez’s achievements in a sport so alien to his nation.
Preferred director Jose Javier Reyes wrote in a message to Martinez on Twitter: “The medal is immaterial. In the hearts of your countrymen, your feat is more than an Olympic Gold. You Inspire!”
“Was teary eyed when I noticed #MichaelChristianMartinez wave his jacket with PHILIPPINES printed on it. He set his coronary heart&soul in his general performance,” an additional tweet claimed.
Garcia explained the youngster experienced “the mind-set of a winner” and would use his time in Sochi “as a stepping stone to attain much more experience for the upcoming Olympics”.