By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
With bated breath we awaited the performance of Michael Christian Martinez in the figure skating part of the Winter Olympics. Then he came into view. It was his turn. He appeared heavier now than how he looked four years ago in the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia where he was the country’s hero. The only player, the first from South East Asia to compete in the Winter Games, was brandishing the Philippine flag just by himself and his coach and what must have been from the Philippine embassy. Well, there were other countries with only one contestant but perhaps their departure was not as contentious the way Martinez finally made it to Russia.
He badly needed money long before the event so he could go to the USA where there was a lot of snow and hire a coach to hone his skills. His family tried everything to get the financial requirements and they ended up mortgaging their house and lot. They accused the Philippine government of lack of support and, for sure, it was true—as always. It would have been different if the competition were basketball where tycoons would be all too willing to chip in.
The netizens then were aghast at the government. One even posted on social media that the people should contribute one peso each to finance his sports quest.
Somehow he made it to Sochi and as his name was called, the commentator said that he was talented. Of course, he even won some international competitions going head to head with those who grew up with snow or ice in their backyards almost every day of the year.
He ended up number nine in the standings in Sochi. When he came back the politicians were running over each other to give him citations and awards.
This time, he was resigned to watching the games on TV. Then about three weeks before the games, he was called up that he was in, he will be one of the competitors. So he had to come out of retirement and prepare to achieve Olympic competence in only about two weeks.
As he said after his stint in the rink, it would have taken me at least three months to get back the ability to do those triple and double jumps. But he did everything quite well. He had no deductions. And he did not fall as many of the other contestants who got scores higher than him did. So how did they score it? Aside from the obvious tinge of sluggishness, his performance was very good. Was it because the westerners hated PDu30?
While I was angry at the obviously biased judges, I was angrier about the government’s attitude on deserving athletes who are not in basketball. Did you read Danny Padua’s column last week here about Wesley So. He is now the number two chess player in the world and have, at one time or another, beaten them all including Kasparov and the current number one. He is still very young. He used to represent the Philippines but, for lack of government support here, had to migrate to the USA where he is now getting the support he needed. His recent much ballyhooed victories were under the USA flag.
So this morning, I was desperately hoping Martinez will bring home a medal which could be the best argument against our craziness with basketball.
But reality check. You don’t acquire Olympic competence in just two and one-half weeks.**
