Filipino figure skater Michael Martinez prepares for the 2018 Winter Olympics

Filipino figure skater Michael Martinez has started his training for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Martinez only had a short time to prepare since he only learned that he will be part of the competition three weeks before the games start on February 9.

He took over the slot of Sweden's Alexander Majorov who was restricted by the Olympic committee of Sweden to participate.

According to Martinez, he has been working harder to ensure that he lands his hump every single time, he has also been practicing his split spins which has become a challenge due to some back issues, but he hopes to push through with the move as part of his routine.

Martinez is training with coach Vyachelsav Zagorodnuyk (Coach Slava) in California.

He represented the country in the 2014 Winter Olympics as the first Filipino and Southeast Asian figure skater to participate and place 19th overall.

Michael will be leaving Los Angeles for PyeongChang on February 5.

The 2018 Winter Olympics will be held from February 9 to 25. — LA, GMA News