MICHAEL Martinez improved his chances of competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics after placing 9th in the men’s singles division of the 2017 Asian Winter Games held in Sapporo, Japan from February 19 to 26.
Finishing with 135.43 points in the Free Skating competition and 76.53 points in the Short Program, Winter Olympian Martinez garnered a total score of 211.9 points, placing him 9th in the overall results of the games.
Other top Filipino figure skaters such as Samantha Cabiles, Jules Alpe, and Shayanne Casapao joined Martinez in the competition and finished 15th, 17th, and 19th in their respective categories.
Japanese figure skater Uno Shoma dominated the men’s singles category with a total of 281.27 points followed by Jin Boyang (280.08) from China, and Yan Han (271.86) from China.
A tournament sanctioned by the International Skating Union or ISU, the Asian Winter Games is an international multi-sport competition held for the 32 member countries of the Olympic Council of Asia.
Following the Asian Winter Games, the 20-year old Martinez is set to compete in the upcoming World Figure Skating Championships in Helsinki, Finland from March 29 to April 2, 2017 which will determine his shot at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.