Michael Martinez, the 17-year-old Pinoy pride signed contract with the SM Group for a continuous monetary support in his bid to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
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| (Photo L-R) Mrs. Teresa Martinez; Michael Martinez; Ms. Nicole Deato, AVP – Education and Leisure Centers, SM Lifestyle Entertainment Inc; Ms. Linda Atayde, SAVP – Education Programs, SM Foundation, Inc. |
The contract is worth P9 million a year for the next four years to finance the Filipino skater’s training.
SM signed Martinez to a four-year contract extension, the first was inked last year. It was supposed to run for 1 1/2 years and Martinez’ fee was P1 Million for an all-exclusive endorsement. In the extension, SM agreed to cover Martinez’ training and competition expenses of P9 Million a year and allowed him to endorse products not in competition with any SM brand.
Figure Skater Olympian Martinez, left the country last Friday to continue his training overseas. He said he will try to make the Filipinos proud as he joins the Hilton Honors Skate America in Chicago, Illinois from October 22 to 26.
Ranked 27th in the world, the first Filipino figure skater to make it to the Winter Olympics admitted being elated after being one of the chosen few to participate in the event.
During his contract signing with the SM Group at the Mall of Asia Arena last Thursday, young Olympian skater admitted it was difficult for his family to finance his training, that’s why he’s thankful to the SM Group for taking care of his financial woes and allowing him to just focus on competing.
Martinez , who had discovered his love for skating at the early age, honed his skills at the SM Skating Rink. He had joined international competitions such as those developed by the International Skating Institute and the International Skating Union, but his efforts have recently been noticed by the pubic as the only Filipino representative at the Winter Olympics 2014.
To futher develop his talent, SM Prime Holdings, SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc., and the SM Foundation teamed up to provide Martinez monetary support for the training and needs for skating.
The 17-year old Olympian, Martinez isn’t giving up on someday going back to school. After the Pyeongchang Games, Martinez said he’ll pursue a degree in sports medicine. But he said he wants to take up photography as an alternative field of interest when not training or competing on ice.
His dream is to win a medal for the country at the next Winter Olympics and he’s got a four-year timetable to make it come true.
The SM Group is proud to support athletes such as Michael Martinez, who has proven that a tropical country can succeed in a winter sports.
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