THE Philippine figure skating pair of Isabella Gamez and Aleksandr Korovin will have to thread the eye of the needle in the Beijing qualifying competitions next month to clinch a spot in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano, Italy.
“They will only take the top three slots from all around the world. I don’t know how many pairs will be available. But Aleksandr and I agreed that we will do our best and let the results decide,” Gamez said after the duo took the bronze in the Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy at the SM Mall of Asia rink in Pasay City the other day.
Struggling with a new program in the free skate, Gamez and Korovin tallied 143.39 points to place third in the event behind the winning Chinese pair of Jixuan Zhang and Yi Hang Huan (190.23) and the North Korean runner-up duo of Tae Ok Ryom and Kum Choi Han (151.14).
“We will learn from our mistakes and work harder so that we can bring pride to the Philippines,” said Gamez after their performance in the tournament supported by the ISU Development Commission, Philippine Sports Commission and Milo.
She disclosed that he and the Russian-born Korovin, who became a naturalized Filipino in December 2025, would be returning to Sochi, Russia, to train under famed figure skating coach Dmitri Savin.
While securing one of the three precious tickets to the Milano Winter Olympic Games would be difficult, the pair said having Savin as their coach would help a lot in becoming the first PH tandem to make their debut in the quadrennial games.
With the site of the 2014 Winter Games as his base, the Russian coach has made a name for himself in molding world-class figure skating pairs, among them Nikita Volodin and Minerva FabienneHase, the reigning European pair champions and world silver medalists.
“Coach Dimitry is one of the best pair coaches in the world and we are honored to be training with him,” said Gamez, who, together with Korovin, is marking their second year of partnership with the Russian mentor.
They will return to Sochi and train there for a month before resuming their campaign in the Kinoshita Group Cup, a leg in the elite-level International Skating Union Challenger Series, from Sept. 5 to 7 in Osaka, Japan.
This will be the tandem’s last tune-up competition before vying in the last Winter Games qualifying meet scheduled Sept. 18 to 21 in Beijing, China.
