IF things fall into place, the figure skating pair of Isabella Gomez and Alexander Korovin may just attain a podium finish and end the country’s 35-year medal dry spell at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China next month, according to Philippine Skating Union president Nikki Cheng.
“Given their track record, Isabella and Alexander have a good chance of attaining a podium finish. They are the only figure skating pair from Southeast Asia. Hopefully, they will finally win a medal for our country in the Harbin Asian Winter Games,” Cheng said.
Gamez and Russian-born Korovin, who became a naturalized Filipino citizen last month, paving the way for his stint in the Asian Winter Games, are members of the 17-man Philippine contingent that will vie in the meet set Feb. 7 to 14 in the Chinese provincial capital of Heilongjiang near the Russian border.
They have been partners since August 2021 and are currently ranked No. 37 in the International Skating Union world ratings.
Japanese partners Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kimura, who won the gold medal at the 2023 world championships in Saitama, Japan, are the top-ranked Asian team at No. 3 while the squad of China’s Cheng Peng and Lei Wang is at No. 29.
No Filipino bet has won a medal in the quadrennial winter meet since the country saw action for the first time in the 1990 edition in Sapporo, Japan.
Barely six months since gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo achieved a remarkable golden double at the Paris Olympic Games last July, Cheng is guardedly optimistic that this will serve as an inspiration for Gamez and Korovin to go all out and score a medal breakthrough in Harbin.
The Philippine pair will make their Asian Winter Games debut on Feb. 11 with the short program at the Heilongjiang Ice Events Training Center Multifunctional followed by the free skate at the same arena the next day.
Aside from Gamez and Korovin, the PSU is also fielding Paolo Borromeo in the men’s singles and Cathryn Limketkai and Sofia, who were gold and silver medalists in the last national meet, in the women’s singles event.
Fil-Am speed skater Peter Groseclose is also making his Asian Winter Games debut and is set to compete in the men’s 500, 1,000 and 1,500-meter short track speed skating events.
Also representing the country are two curling teams composed of Benjo Delarmente, Alan Frei, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister and Marc Pfister in the men’s division while Anne Bonache, Kathleen Dubberstein, Leilani Dubberstein, Sheila Mariano and Jessica Pfister make up the women’s squad.
Men’s alpine skier Francis Ceccarelli and female counterpart Tallulah Proulx are also members of the delegation headed by karate chief Ricky Lim as the national team chief of mission.