Another Filipino is headed for Pyeongchang 2018.
This morning, Filipino figure skater Michael Christian Martinez announced that he will be competing in the Winter Olympics to be held from Feb. 9 – 25 in South Korea.
Martinez initially did not qualify for the games because he placed 8th in the Nebelhorn Trophy held in Germany in September, where only the top seven get to compete in the Olympics. But a slot opened up for him after a skater from Sweden withdrew from the competition for unknown reasons.
“I was pretty shocked,” Martinez told ABS-CBN News. “I rushed to the rink and told my coach. We’re all super happy about it.”
Many Filipinos are super happy about it too; Martinez is currently a trending topic on Philippine Twitter.
https://twitter.com/LeeDale9198/status/956355047469735936
https://twitter.com/remauishte_/status/956352786228068353
We've been waiting for this moment. Finally, it's official Michael Martinez will compete in 2018… https://t.co/5hKWwpuLz4
— Team Pinoy Mikees (@TeamPinoyMikees) January 25, 2018
Martinez was the Philippines’ only representative in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Before Martinez’s announcement, the country was also only going to have one representative this year — Filipino American skier Asa Miller.
The Philippines rarely sends delegates to the Winter Olympics and has only joined the games four times since the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo, Japan.
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