The potential of figure skater Michael Martinez was discussed by Filipinos amid the spotlight placed on athletes following Alex Eala‘s history-making feats in tennis.
Alex made history as the first Filipina tennis player to compete at Wimbledon in the Open Era and reach the fourth round of the prestigious tournament, capturing Pinoys’ hearts with her performance and personality.
The 21-year-old recently bowed to Italy’s Jasmine Paolini but despite the loss, she continued to earn Filipinos’ support for making a mark on the global tennis stage.
READ: Paolini ends Eala’s dream run with fourth-round victory | ‘Mabuhay ka’: DOT celebrates Alex Eala’s historic Wimbledon 2026 run
Amid the buzz surrounding her success, a Redditor wondered about another athlete from a sport that is similarly unpopular among Filipinos — Michael, a two-time Winter Olympics figure skater.
“Laking sayang nito. Imagine if this pathetic government [had] supported Michael Christian Martinez,” the Reddit user wrote on Sunday, July 5.
Laking sayang nito. Imagine if this pathetic government has supported Michael Christian Martinez.
by
u/BASTADDSSALOT in
Philippines
The post has so far received 3,800 upvotes and over 180 comments.
“Michael Christian Martinez had the best Biellmann spin amongst his cohort of male skaters at the time, Yuzuru Hanyu included. I wish he had gotten the support he needed. Pretty much impossible unless they have the funds to train elsewhere,” a Reddit user wrote.
“Naalala ko, crush na crush ko ‘yan noon si Michael. Ang cute kasi. Shame na hindi siya nakatuloy dahil na rin siguro sa kulang sa suporta,” another Redditor commented.
“Silently cheering him during Sochi 2014, I remember nanood ako sa TV5 because of him and palagi namin pinag-uusapan ng mga classmate ko si Michael. Sayang talaga siya,” a different Reddit user wrote.
“Ang ganda sana kung mas paunlarin pa nila lalo ‘yung National Academy of Sports,” another Redditor commented.
“To be fair, it would be a tough battle and remember this was in Sochi. The Russians are very strong when in comes to figure skating. But I’m hoping we shall see a Alysa Liu someday in our lifetime,” a different Reddit user said, referring to an American figure skater.
Another Redditor also brought up the role of “politics” in figure skating.
“Martinez is talented, and he repped PH well at Winter Olympics, but at the time that he was competing, he only had 3A (triple axel) as an ultra-C element while the top contenders had quads. Hanyu (JPN), who was 2x OGM, had quads in both short and long programs,” the Reddit user commented.
“Other competitors were also doing quads more than Hanyu, I believe. IIRC [If I remember correctly], Martinez was at least Top 20 at the 2014 Olympics, so there certainly was talent and grit there,” the Redditor added.
“He was a beautiful skater, and I agree that he didn’t have the government support and funding he needed, but being the first Southeast Asian to skate in the Olympics is no small feat. Ultimately, even though he had those, I still believe he would have a difficult time cracking the Top 15 in both Olympic Games or at least, have placements in the Grand Prix Series,” the Reddit user said.
“Grabe din ang politicking sa figure skating. It is a judged sport, so having the right infrastructure in place helps. We are still so far away in terms of that. Sayang talaga talents ng Pinoy dahil sa existing political system sa bansa,” the Redditor said.
Where is Michael Martinez now?
Michael is the first figure skater from the Philippines to compete at the Olympic Winter Games, which he did in 2014, and the first Filipino to perform a triple Axel in competition.
He also won gold at the 2015 Asian Figure Skating Trophy, becoming the first Filipino to win the event.
Michael later became a two-time Triglav Trophy champion and competed in multiple International Skating Union (ISU) Championships.
He also participated in the 2018 Winter Olympics, although he had limited time to prepare after being named as a replacement for a Swedish skater who withdrew.
Michael was later offered a coaching job by the Philippine Skating Union.
He is now a figure skating coach who mentors young skaters, based on his social media posts.
Michael previously shared that he felt fulfilled by his coaching gig.
“It’s a great feeling, that I get to share my knowledge and see them improve,” he said in an interview in 2025.
“We have a lot of up-and-coming skaters, especially in the senior levels,” Michael said.
He was also asked if he wanted to return to skating.
“I really want to go back,” Michael said. “Seeing my skaters and seeing everybody compete, I do want to go back, but it’s hard for me to juggle coaching and skating. It’s very difficult for us to juggle our time.”
“As a skater, I get to represent and show what I can really do. But when you’re a coach, you get to share your knowledge. Actually, I never thought of it before, but now as a coach, it’s such a big responsibility pala siya. You study constantly, you learn, and it doesn’t end there,” Michael added.
“It doesn’t stop, but I really enjoy doing it. I’ve been coaching for nine years na, it’s been very long na pala. I started coaching in the US, and then I’ve coached here for more than three years na,” he further said.
Michael has a coaching account on Instagram called “Team MZViral.”