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Mother of Martinez clarifies the Olympian’s financial situation

Michael Christian Martinez captivated the nation with his inspiring performance in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Although he placed 19th in his event, his performance drew great reviews as he is the first Filipino, even the first Southeast Asian, to qualify for the prestigious figure skating event.

However, his path to Sochi wasn’t a straight shot. Along the way, the Olympian’s family had to make ends meet just to give Martinez a chance of competing at the biggest stage of winter sports. His mother, Maria Teresa Martinez, told Yahoo Philippines how difficult it was to support her child’s quest.

“We received on February 13 Michael's $50 per day or $1,200 for 24 days allowance for Sochi from POC (Philippine Olympic Committee), which POC said the money came from PSC (Philippine Sports Commission),” the Olympian’s mother said through an e-mail.

“$7,200 was paid to the coach directly by POC on February 13. I never touched the money contrary to reports that said money was given to me in December,” she added. “It was paid directly to the coach for his coaching fee here in Sochi only. We’ve been in Sochi since January 30 and Michael still trained here.”

The elder Martinez also explained that his son received money from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) being a scholar.

“Michael is a scholar of the IOC, and as such he is given $1,500 per month from July 2013 until February 2014,” she said. “We thank very much the IOC for the scholarship and thank the POC for helping us secure the scholarship from IOC. The scholarship from July to October was given to us in November through the POC and I read news that the POC already has the money from November to February and that the amount will be given to us when we arrive there. The only question for me that time is if the government gave any amount to support us because I understand that POC and IOC are both non-government organizations.”

“In  PSC's press releases , they said they were asked not to give a helping hand to Michael. They also said Michael received P150,000 from SM for ten months, which is true and we never denied that. We are very thankful for SM’s support,” she said.

She continued that the cost of training is far more than what SM’s sponsorship covered. The skater’s coaches in the United States charge between $100 and $150 per hour and the time of the ice rink is approximately $16 per hour. Martinez usually practices for six hours a day. SM’s sponsorship amounts to about $111 per day.

“We’re really thankful for SM’s support because it’s a huge amount but it’s not enough for a figure skater,” she continued. “People were telling us that we knew all along that ice skating is an expensive sport and that it was our decision. They said that funding it was my problem and that I shouldn't ask the government for help. But I never asked the government to shoulder everything. Is it such a bad this for Michael to ask for some support as he is representing the country in the Olympics?”

ALSO READ: Martinez overwhlemed by supports, targets 2018 Olympics

“Michael has represented the Philippines in competitive skating since 2009.  He put the Philippines in the competitive skating map since 2009 but was he ever recognized, awarded or given incentive?” she rued. “Michael was the very first figure skater from Southeast Asia in the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games and I requested for help before but we didn’t receive any. He didn’t have a coach for that competition because we couldn’t afford to pay for one.”

The Olympian’s mother however said that she does not have ill feeling towards President Benigno Aquino III.

“Back in December 9, 2013, I granted an interview with a freelance reporter and told her  that I believe the Office of the President was not aware that a Filipino athlete is competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics. I expressed my doubts whether my message reached President Aquino  as it had already been more than a month that and I had not received a reply from my letter,” she said. “On 27 October 2013, I wrote the Office of the President, via email, requesting for assistance/direction on how we can inform President Aquino III that my homegrown athlete son, Michael, has qualified in the 2014 Winter Olympics and that we badly need the government’s financial support.”

ALSO READ: Martinez bucks asthma, lack of funding to reach Winter Olympics

“I have no doubt that had President Aquino personally known that a Filipino athlete is representing the country in the 2014 Winter Olympics, he  certainly would have helped Michael gather more funding for his journey to the Sochi Games. For one reason or another, I believe my letters did not reach the President himself.”

She also bared that her son almost pulled out of the Sochi Winter Olympics due to injuries but the support of those who believed in him kept the skater going.

“SM and the Philippine Skating Union provided support, and POC also helped, and we thank them for that.  Even if it wasn't enough, we are very thankful. Even one peso donations were big help to us,” her email closed. “Even small amount were a huge boost for us morally. Knowing that there were people who wanted to help, who prayed for Michael, that gave him the strength to continue."