KUALA LUMPUR – A new, untested routine may have cost Michael Martinez the gold medal in the ice skating competition of the 29th Southeast Asian Games.
Heavily favored to emerge victorious, the 2014 Sochi Winter Games veteran admitted that he gambled on a new program that prompted him to lose the gold in the men’s individual figure skating event at the Empire City Arena in Damansara Perdana late Sunday.
Instead, Martinez settled for the silver with 171.63 points – his lowest tally in any international competition – behind hometown bet Julian Yee, who tallied 205.43 points to clinch the gold.
“Basically this was the first time I was trying out my new program in a competition. This is so far the hardest among all the programs I have ever done,” he said.
“It usually takes three to four months to master the routine.
“This was the first time I included quads (jumps) in my program so there were still some refinements to do in my transition.”
