Figure skater Sofia Frank emerged with a gold medal in the Asian Open Figure Skating Championship in Jakarta recently.
The 17-year-old Frank scored a total of 143.97 points to rule the nine-woman field and boost her buildup for the 2023 Four Continents Skating Championships in Colorado Springs, United States from 7 to 12 February next year.
Joanna So of Hong Kong finished second with 138.14 points while Tzu Han-Ting of Chinese Taipei wound up with bronze with 136.40 points in the event that ran from 7 to 9 December.
Philippine Skating Union president Nikki Cheng said the result came as a surprise.
“This was an unexpected win and we are happy that Sofia got the gold in Jakarta,” Cheng said.
Another figure skater in Edrian Celestino, on the other hand, placed 10th out of 15 figure skaters in the 2022 Golden Spin of Zagreb last Saturday.
The 24-year-old skater scored 178.35 points for the 10th spot while Camden Pulkinen of the United States took home the gold with 242.09 points.
Still, Cheng applauded Celestino as it would give him some exposure for the Four Skates tournament.
“The tournament in Zagreb is a heavy competition, an International Skating Union Challenger series event,” Cheng said.
“We’re okay with his placing but was slightly disappointed because he was at fifth in the short program and dropped to 10th in the free skate event. Although we’re proud of him for trying this season.”
