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Michael Martinez seizes Triglav gold anew in Slovenia


Michael Martinez claimed his second consecutive Triglav Trophy gold in Jesenice, Slovenia, boosted by strong free skating that overshadowed falls he suffered in the short program while attempting a Triple Axel and a triple Lutz—difficult moves in competition figure skating.
 
The Triglav Trophy, an annual international figure skating competition, was held for the 24th time last week. Senior men's events were on Sunday, April 19.
 
In the short program, deductions because of the falls caused Martinez to slip to fifth place. 
 
Maurizio Zandron of Italy secured first place although he also had some difficulty in the early part of his short program. He, however, did not fall and was not meted any deduction.
 
But Martinez, proving that he is the reigning champion and the 33rd ranked in the world, recovered heftily in the free skating phase. He had no deductions, and earned significantly higher scores from the judges.

 
Tough jumps, fancy footwork
 
Early on in the free skating series, Martinez showed that he had overcome his short program setback. He was able to execute his first move, a Triple Axel, then proceeded to settle into his plan with a Single Axel-Double Twist combination followed by a Triple Lutz-Double Twist combo.
 
Having gained enough momentum, Martinez then launched his “level 4 flying change-foot combination spin with 3 positions” which the judges rewarded with significant points.
 
Martinez was even awarded “credit for highlight distribution” for his Triple Lutz, Triple Twists, Triple Loops, and Double Axel.
 
He went for a solid free skating finish with fancy footwork using a “flying change-foot combination spin with 3 positions” that also got high scores.
 
In the end, Martinez was able to zoom straight to the top of the heap, garnering 181.84 points, sliding  past June Hyoung Lee of Korea (176.60) and Maurizio Zandron (170.44).
 
The Triglav competition marked the end of the senior men's figure skating season.
 
Up ahead from October to December is the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating.  — DVM, GMA News
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