Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
Speed skater Peter Groseclose arrived in South Korea on Sunday ahead of this Friday’s opening ceremony of the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon.
Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said two other Filipino athletes will follow suit with freestyle skier Laetaz Amihan Rabe checking in at the GangneungYouth Olympic Village on Friday and cross-country skier Avery Balbanida arriving on January 25.
Tolentino and POC secretary general Wharton Chan will be flying to Gangwon on Thursday to meet up with chef de mission Ada Milby, Philippine Skating Union president Nikki Cheng and Philippine Ski and Snowboard Federation secretary-general Jezreel Apelar.
The opening ceremony will be held simultaneously at the Gangneung Oval and PyeongChang Dome for the games that gather 1,900 athletes aged 15 to 18 from 79 nations competing in 81 events spread over seven sports.
Groseclose, 16, qualified for the short track’s 500-, 1000- and 1,500-meter races which kick off on January 20 to 24.
Rabe, 14, is entered in the Slopestyle and Big Air events, while Balbanida, 16, is flying in later from Calgary City for the 7.5-km classic skiing and sprint freestyle set from January 29 to February 1.
“It’s always exciting for the Philippines to be on any international stage and for us to have three athletes in the Winter Youth Olympic Games,” said Milby, who heads the rugby federation. “It demonstrates the commitment of the athletes to perform on that level.”
The games end on February 1.
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