The Philippines just sent its first representative since 1992 to the Winter Olympics in the person of Filipino skater Michael Christian Martinez. The 17-year-old has made history as the first figure skater to ever represent a Southeast Asian country in the prestigious sports event, reports CNN.

Following the figure skater's stellar performance at the short program on Thursday, he has advanced to the free program set for Friday, writes GMA Network. Performing to a love song, the Filipino pride scored 64.81 landing him 19th among the 24 that qualified. Martinez has been described as a charismatic performer with "good flexibility" and "great performance skills for such a young man."

The teen, who has already gained international popularity, hails from a tropical country with no snow, but has been able to qualify to the on-going Winter Olympics. Martinez' entire career has been a challenge as he started skating inside a Manila mall, writes Yahoo! Sports.

During an interview with NBC Olympics, "I'd love to qualify for the free skate [top 24]; that would be a big accomplishment for me."

Martinez continues, "It feels great that I'm here representing the Philippines at the Olympics," Martinez said in the same interview. "There is a lot of pressure on me because not only am I skating for my country, but for all the hard work I've put in the last four years."

Sadly, there are news bits circulating online that the Philippine government has neglected its first winter games athlete in 22 years. With limited resources, the Manila Bulletin writes that Michael's mother, Maria Theresa Martinez, has written to President Benigno Aquino III several times for financial support from the government but failed to get a response.

MSN writes that the expenses for the skater's career have been too much. Private sectors have provided support but in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan there wasn't much the government could do for a figure skater, the nation's only competitor in Sochi.

It was revealed by the Catholic Register newspaper that in order to support Micheal's bid to the Olympics, the Martinez family had to mortgage their house to cover Michael's travel costs. They have also depleted their life savings to support Martinez's craft.

However, another report from the GMA Network says that the Philippines has provided some support, even if limited. With the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Philippines Sports Commission working together to give financial aid. The Martinez family received $6,000 from the IOC in November and has provided $1000 a month for Martinez from July to October of 2013, plus an additional $500 monthly to pay for his coach. Another $6000 is said to be awaiting Martinez at the POC office upon his return from Sochi, Russia.

The POC has also provided Martinez with a small amount of pocket money while food and accommodations have been shouldered by the Olympics' organizers in Russia. In addition to this, he has been supported by local entities Smart Telecommunications as well as the MVP foundation, according to a tweet by owner Manuel V. Pangilinan himself.

Social media has been abuzz with Martinez' advancing to the free program. With Filipinos around the world tweeting their support to Southeast Asia's lone representative to the Sochi 2014 Figure Skating competition.