MANILA, February 14, 2014 (AFP) – Philippine Olympic figure skater Michael Christian Martinez was hailed as a hero on Friday even as a senior athletics official denied accusations that the government experienced unsuccessful to assistance him.
The 17-year-previous, the lone agent of the tropical nation at the Sochi Games, designed record after he skilled Thursday from the men’s brief plan for the no cost skate on Friday, regardless of various down sides, such as getting pressured to master his craft on a skating rink in a buying shopping mall.
Neighborhood information reports suggested his loved ones experienced struggled to pay back for his coaching and that the govt did not provide any aid.
But Ricardo Garcia, chairman of the Philippine Sporting activities Commission, explained Martinez experienced acquired sufficient fiscal aid from the federal government and personal donors.
“We are pretty delighted with his functionality. For a guy who figured out how to skate in the Philippines, to make it to the finals… it is definitely astounding,” Garcia informed AFP.
“This is a pretty major difficulty for us. We have an athlete who is an Olympian who made it to the last rounds,” he added.
Some of the country’s wealthiest tycoons ended up sponsoring Martinez and the nationwide skating association in no way questioned for extra cash for him, Garcia claimed.
The Philippine Olympic Committee asked the authorities for $7,200 to address some of Martinez’s added costs but this income was introduced in December, he added.
Talking following his overall performance at the Iceberg Skating Palace on Friday, Martinez was elated with his performance: “The 1st half was fairly great, but halfway while the application I received out of breath, but I did my ideal all the way via. This is the very first time I landed the triple axel in the next 50 percent of the system.”
He is already hunting toward the next Winter Video games in South Korea.
“If I can get a lot more aid fiscally, I’m pondering about the subsequent Olympics and acquiring a medal there,” he extra.
People of social media were being agog about Martinez’s success in a activity so alien to his state.
Well-known director Jose Javier Reyes wrote in a concept to Martinez on Twitter: “The medal is immaterial. In the hearts of your countrymen, your feat is additional than an Olympic Gold. You Inspire!”
“Was teary eyed when I observed #MichaelChristianMartinez wave his jacket with PHILIPPINES printed on it. He put his heart&soul in his efficiency,” one more tweet explained.
Garcia mentioned the youngster experienced “the angle of a winner” and would use his time in Sochi “as a stepping stone to achieve more encounter for the subsequent Olympics”.