HANS Buemio clocked 48.435 seconds in the boys 500-meter race over the weekend in the Asian Open Trophy speed skating meet in Bangkok, Thailand to become the first Filipino junior skater to qualify for the prestigious ISU Junior World Cup series.
“Dreams take flight when passion meets dedication! Hans Buemio has made history as the first homegrown skater to qualify for the ISU Junior World Cup,” the Philippine Skating Union posted on its Facebook page.
“In a blazing 500m race at the Asian Open Trophy in Bangkok, he (Buemio) clocked 48.345 seconds to achieve this incredible milestone for Philippine short track. He has proven that with hard work, we can achieve the extraordinary,” the post added.
PSU president Nikki Cheng, who witnessed the feat, said Buemio was six-tenths of a second faster than the qualifying cutoff time of 48.40 seconds, making him eligible to compete in the ISU Junior World Cup series starting with a meet scheduled Nov. 25 to 26 in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands.
“Hans is only 16 and in the Junior B or 15-16-year-old category. He has been with us for two years,” Cheng said. “It’s a great achievement for us, because he is locally trained. It’s definitely a sign that our skaters in the local scene are improving.”
She added that Buemio competed in the meet together with Sunphil Zablan and Anthea de Guzman.
