CONTINUING their success as a figure skating pair for the Philippines, Isabella Gamez and Alexander Korovin tallied 93.07 points to wind up 11th in the prestigious ISU Four Continents Championships Shanghai, China over the weekend to ensure their place in the World Championships in Boston next year.
“The amazing duo of Isabella and Alexander skated their way towards the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships!” the Philippine Skating Union announced on its Facebook account.
“They have just secured their spot in one of the two 2026 Olympic qualifying events through their performance today in the ISU 4 Continents Championships. Congratulations!” the PSU noted.
The Winter Olympic Games will be held from Feb. 6 to 22, 2026 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
PSU president Nikki Cheng said the total tally was the combined result of the short program held last Feb. 1 (46.62) and the free skate (46.45) in the meet held in the Chinese seaport city 1,214 kilometers southeast of Beijing.
“To qualify for the world figure skating championships, skaters must make the minimum technical element score for the event. For pairs, the minimum TES for the short program is 29 while for the free skate, it is 46,” Cheng pointed out.
She added that Gamez and Korovin, who began their partnership in August 2021, secured their short program scores in the 2023 edition of the World Meet in Saitama, Japan.
“The scores stand for two years so this is why they will be able to compete for the Philippines at the worlds next year in Boston,” said Cheng, who added the pair intends to also vie at the worlds set March 18 to 24 in Montreal, Canada.
Two other Filipino entries, Adrian Celestino and Sofia Frank, finished 18th and 17th, respectively, in the men’s and women’s individual figure skating events, according to Cheng.
Filipino-Canadian Celestino finished strong, winding up 18th out of the 24 skaters in the men’s individual event with a score of 117.74 points while Frank, a granddaughter of former basketball great Freddie Webb, placed 17th with 92.33 points.
Both are also expected to compete at the worlds in Montreal next month.
