Wazzup Pilipinas!
Michael Christian Martinez, the lone athlete for the Philippines, is an unlikely competitor from a country without snow. Catapulted into the limelight after qualifying last year, his entire home country, which has never won a medal in the Winter Olympics, is rooting for him. Michael finished 19th overall with a total segment score of 64.81 which means he'll move on to Friday's final free skate.
"I'd love to qualify for the free skate [top 24]; that would be a big accomplishment for me," Martinez, 17, said in an interview with NBCOlympics.com prior to the competition. "I don't know what placement I'll get because my training is so different, but we'll see."
It's likely to be a David-versus-Goliath match-up. Facing medal favorites such as Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu and Canada's Patrick Chan, who rank first and second after the short program, Martinez has not benefited from the same intensive training as many of his competitors.