Figure skater Michael Christian Martinez is making history.
READ: 10 awesome Michael Martinez moves to watch for in Sochi
Global news giant CNN put the spotlight on him with a banner story on their website. CNN’s Madison Park wrote, “A Philippine teenager with a shy, crooked smile and expressive eyebrows will perform on ice as the first figure skater ever to represent a Southeast Asian country on Thursday, February 13.”
Park went on to note that “the lone athlete for the Philippines, is an unlikely competitor from a country without snow.”
Park went on to say that Martinez was in for a tough fight against “medal favorites such as Canada’s Patrick Chan and Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu.” The report explained that “Martinez has not benefited from the same intensive training as many of his competitors.”
In fact, Martinez’s mother, Maria Teresa, told CNN in an email that the family “patched together donations from a local shopping mall ice rink, friends, and his skating club” to finance Martinez’s Olympic dream.
