Michael Martinez skates towards comeback, hopes to inspire next generation

MANILA — Two-time Winter Olympian Michael Martinez is making a surprise comeback to the ice — a return that is driven by a bigger purpose than his own dreams.

Martinez, who is turning 30 years old next month, announced he is returning to competitive skating in a post on social media last week. 

The figure skater is now back to intensive training, two hours a day and five times a week. He is expected to compete in the Philippine National Figure Skating Championships 2026 next month. 

Martinez says that since announcing his return, he has received an overwhelming amount of support.

“I’m very happy. I’m very grateful. I’m very surprised, and with all the love and support coming from everybody, honestly, I did not expect it,” Martinez told ABS-CBN News on Saturday at the SM Skating Mall of Asia. 

“I’m honestly really happy for people [who] still remember me and I feel like a lot of new generations are actually getting into figure skating and I think I’m very thankful that I was able to share that and inspire more. And help them to remember the sport,” he added. 

Martinez broke into national consciousness after representing the Philippines in the 2014 Winter Olympics — the lone Filipino in the Sochi Games. He made another appearance four years later in PyeongChang 2018.

More than personal glory and his own dreams, Martinez’s return is fueled by a desire to give back to the sport. 

“I’m not just doing this for myself. I’m honestly doing this to hopefully give more attention to Philippine sports, to Philippine figure skating because I feel like we do deserve it,” he shared. 

“I’m really doing this to really share awareness, not just awareness, but really to inspire my skaters and of course to really put attention to the sport and hopefully to help the next generation. Because our new generations here in the Philippines for figure skating is actually very talented, very hardworking and dedicated and hopefully it matches that dedication with the support,” Martinez explained. 

The 29-year-old said he’s been trying to get back to competitive skating since he hung up his skates after the 2018 Winter Olympics, but several circumstances prevented him from committing to a comeback. 

Martinez believes this time is the best opportunity for him to return, given everything that happened since the Winter Games and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Filipino figure skate Michael Martinez at the Mall of Asia skating rink, October 24, 2026. Paige Javier, ABS-CBN NewsThe road back to competitive skating, however, is far from easy, with Martinez facing the physical challenges of age while splitting his time between training and coaching.  

Martinez admits he’s feeling the physical toll of the sport on his body, as he takes a longer time to recover compared to before. 

“It’s been very difficult. Honestly, I mean, I’ve been trying my best to go back and forth a long time. Probably a couple months ago, I was trying to balance like coaching and then a little bit of practice. And then this time, since the announcement, I’m full on training and coaching at the same time,” he shared. 

“It’s very difficult because it’s a weird balance because you have to think of yourself, and of course, my age, my back, everything else, my joints, it’s not the way it’s used to. It’s just being able to use that and appreciate a little bit of success or a little bit of achievements every single day,” the 29-year-old said. 

Martinez is being realistic in his return to competitive skating, saying he just wants to have fun and enjoy the sport again. 

“I think the main goal, or basically, I think I’m not coming back to recreate what I was when I was 17. I’m coming back so that I’m able to do what I’m capable of doing today,” he said. 

“I want to thank you guys so, so, so much for everything and for all the love and support and to really inspire me to keep going, to really lock in for this nationals and for the upcoming and for my comeback,” Martinez said. 

The Philippine National Figure Skating Championships 2026 is set for November 19 to 21 at the SM Skating Mall of Asia.