UPDATE: One slip and obvious lack of big-time competition experience aside, Michael Christian Martinez delivered at solid program Friday. His marks had him second in the men's finals at the time, although more polished competitors would bump him down the standings. Martinez is a surprising skater, talented and athletic, for someone so young and lacking in training. He should be a presence in the 2018 Games.
Behind the stories of power and glory, every Olympiad has its small slices of success. In these Winter Games, Michael Christian Martinez is among the most interesting.
First, there's the whole concept: Martinez is from the Philippines. He is 2014's weird story line in the vein of Jamaican bobsledders and the luge competitor from Tonga.
Second, there's the backstory: He learned to skate at a shopping mall rink in the Philippines. He carries the dreams of a country left prostrate by a typhoon. His sponsorship money disappeared, but that didn't keep him from Sochi.
Third, there's the preliminary result: Martinez, all of 17, qualified for the field of 24 skaters who on Friday will compete for gold. And his score Thursday was the best of his career.
"I feel like a real champion," he said.
Which of course he is. Small potatoes don't get to the world stage simply by being in the bin. Despite struggling with asthma, Martinez entered the Sochi Games among the top 30 skaters in the world. He qualified for the 2014 Olympics by finishing seventh in an international competition in Germany.
"I literally grew up in the hospital as I was very sick. I couldn't take up any sport. I tried outdoor sports when I was younger, but I easily got asthma attacks, so I stopped," Martinez said in an article from GMA News Online , a Philippines outlet.
"I had asthma maintenance medicine when I started skating, since the cold in the rink makes me sick too. But year after year my health keeps improving, so my mother fully supported me to continue skating. She said it's better to spend the money on skating than in the hospital."
There's another story in play, too. Martinez developed as a skater by watching Canada's Patrick Chan. On video. On YouTube. And so it's a natural adjunct to the tale of Martinez that Chan befriended him, and in the process offered tips and support.
"He actually told me that I was official Canadian team (member)," Martinez told reporters, according to Canada's CTV . "He was really friendly and kind. I really liked him. Surprisingly (nice) for a world champion.
You will be forgiven if you overlooked Martinez in the opening ceremony's march of national teams. But it would have been hard to miss him. He was the one carrying the Philippines flag.
The Philippines now have one of their own to follow. J.R. Celski, the American short-track skater, is of Filipino extraction. But Martinez is from the islands, and his countrymen have good reason to be excited.
Friday, Martinez takes his 4:30 turn on the ice in his free-skate program. The whole world will be watching.
And somewhere, another young athlete might be inspired to become a figure skater. Doesn't matter where that youth may be. Today we know even mall skating rinks in the Philippines can produce an Olympian.
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