Martinez falls short in Winter Olympics stint

Martinez, who had a flawless performance  in Pyeongchang, South Korean on Friday, finished 28th out of 30 skaters with 55-56 points (Photo: Michael Christian Martinez/Facebook)

MANILA — Michael Martinez put up a good fight in the Winter Olympics men’s skating short program event, but failed to enter the second round of the competition.

Martinez, who had a flawless performance in Pyeongchang, South Korea on Friday, finished 28th out of 30 skaters with 55.56 points.

However, with only 24 skaters entering the next phase, Martinez, who captured a silver medal in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games last year, got the early boot.

Malaysian ice skater Julian Yee, who beat Martinez for the gold medal in Kuala Lumpur last year, barely missed the cut, ranking 25th with 73.58 points, just below the 74.73 points of German Paul Fentz, the last skater to enter the second round.

The Filipino skater performed to Vanessa Mae’s “Emerald Tiger”.