GANGWON, South Korea — Freestyle skier Laetaz Amihan Rabe tries to conquer a strong field and loneliness when she sees action on Wednesday in the 4th Winter Youth Olympics.
Rabe admitted that competing by her lonesome isn’t fun but she will do her best to complete the best ever participation of the country in this prestigious quadrennial event.
On Monday, Peter Groseclose flirted with a bronze medal in the men’s 500-meter short track speedskating event.
The 16-year-old Groseclose was in hot pursuit in the third place in the five-man final but collided with Zhang Bohao of China that sent him tumbling all the way to fifth place.
Sean Boxiong Shuai of the United States emerged with a gold medal after clocking 41.498 seconds while Zhang Xinzhe of China and Dominik Major of Hungary settled for the silver and bronze medals after nothing 41.755 and 41.969 seconds, respectively.
Groseclose finish is the best ever performance of a Filipino since figure skater Michael Martinez emerged seventh in the inaugural staging of the Winter Youth Games in 2012.
“It’s still fifth overall — or five out of 36 entries,” said Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, who is in town together with POC secretary general Wharton Chan.
Rabe, however, vows to brush off loneliness in a bid to bring glory to the country.
“I feel lonely because I’m the only in my events,” said the 15-year-old Rabe, who’s been practicing at the Welli Hilli Park Ski Resort where the temperature dropped to -15 Celsius Tuesday.
“But I’m proud and ready for tomorrow (Wednesday).”
Rabe sustained a minor bruise in her jaw when she crashed in training Sunday but said she’s ready for the women’s slopestyle that starts at 9:45 a.m. here featuring 20 other strong contenders with athletes from Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand, Ukraine and the US as favorites.
There were others who sustained injuries on Monday — one had a concussion on the head and another broke his knee and are out of the Olympics.
“All those happened on the same day (Monday),” said Ric Rabe, Rabe’s dad and coach.
“Tomorrow is competition day and she’s feeling alone. But she’s in good spirit. She’s framing her mind to focus and finalize our plan today.”
Slopestyle freeski is skiing down over a series of rails and jump features while in big air, Rabe’s other event set on Sunday, features athletes launching themselves for a big jump and performing while airborne with spins, grabs and flips.
“I was able to do a lot of tricks and spins with my new skis,” she said.
“I was able to ski at the snow park for few hours, checked out my speed and the rails if it’s sticky. It’s just small details, but very important.”
“She is one of the last qualifiers,” the elder Rabe said.
“Realistic objectives are to gain experience from this international event and try to be the best among her FIS (International Ski Federation) counterparts while enjoying the moment here.”
