Martinez huffs to finish 28th in short program

Michael Martinez's second Winter Olympic stint ended quickly. Ivan Saldajeno (file photo)
By JP Abcede

MANILA--Michael Martinez made the most out of his second stint at the Olympics, scoring 55.56 points to finish 28th in the men's singles figure skating event.

However, this was not enough for him to advance to the free skating part of the competition.

Martinez, who performed his routine with the musical accompaniment of "Emerald Tiger" by Vanessa Mae, was obviously heaving at the end of the performance.

His best element was his first spin, a triple lutz on to a double toeloop. He started to slow down in the middle segment of his program as his elements were getting penalized for execution.

This pales in comparison to his stint four years ago, when Martinez scored 64.81 points, which was good enough for 19th. He then went on to place 20th in free skating with 119.44 points to finish 19th overall 184.25 points.

2014 gold medalist Hanyū Yuzuru finished first with 111.68 points. Javier Fernández of Spain prevented a 1-2 Japan finish with 107.58 points, edging Uno Shōma's 104.17. Jin Boyang of China tallied 103.32 to wrap up skaters who went above 100 points.

2017 SEA Games gold medalist Julian Yee of Malaysia finished at 25th with 73.58, his first performance at this level.

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