Olympic success fires up Phl skaters

Filipino skaters are determined to qualify in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan following the country’s historic participation in the Summer Olympics in Paris last year.

Philippine Skating Union president Nikki Cheng said they are inspired by the country’s previous Olympic success so they will do everything they can to prepare the athletes in the Winter Games set from 6 to 22 February next year in Italy.

Right now, the Filipino skaters are gearing up for the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Seoul from 19 to 23 February with Paolo Borromeo and Sofia Frank competing in the men’s and women’s single skating and Isabella Gamez and naturalized athlete Alexandr Korovin vying in the pair skating event.

“For most of them, it was the Olympic cycle and they are doing everything they can in order to qualify for the Olympics,” Cheng said.

“However, I would have to say also that maybe for some of them, it’s been a childhood dream. So, they have been preparing all their lives for it.”

“But I hope that this will be the biggest delegation yet of the Filipinos. I think the maximum delegation of Filipinos is two.”

Since the Philippines is a tropical country, it doesn’t figure prominently in the Winter Games.

In fact, the Filipinos’ largest delegation was in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018 with figure skater Michael Martinez and skier Asa Miller serving as their only representatives. Aside from the figure skaters, speed skater Peter Groseclose is also considered as one of the country’s best bets to earn a slot in the Winter Games after he clinched the country’s first bronze medal in the men’s 500-meter race in the ISU Junior World Cup 2 in Bormio, Italy last November.

Cheng also hopes for a harmonious relationship with newly-appointed chief of mission Richard Gomez in the buildup for the Winter Games.

After all, they collaborated during the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China in 2023 when Gomez was in the same role and she served as one of his deputies.

“Well, I hope that everything will go smoothly. Given that the next Winter Olympics will be a fairly small delegation, I don’t think that there will be any major issues that could happen,” Cheng said.