Pinay skater chases Olympic dream

MANILA, Philippines - She’s no shoo-in but Gracielle Tan, a 21-year-old Filipina from California, is hoping to top the 2009 Philippine Figure Skating Championships and eventually land in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

“I hope to be the first Filipina to make it to the Winter Olympics. I hope to be the best I can be to qualify,” she said yesterday during the formal press conference of the event that takes off today at the SM Mall of Asia ice rink.

Tan, who resembles five-time world figure skating champion Michelle Kwan of the United States, is among the 11 entries competing in the ladies seniors until tomorrow with the top skater gaining a big step toward the Olympics.

The winner moves on to the final Olympic qualifying tournament in Oberstdorf, Germany in September where six more will join the 24 others who previously qualified through the 2009 ISU World Championships last March.

Tan saw action in the toughest qualifying tournament last March at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Out of 54 entries, the tall and gracious Fil-American landed 29th. Too bad only the top 24 made it to the Olympics.

But she’s moved on from that experience.

“It was very close and very exciting. I was the only Filipina there. It was an amazing experience and the competition was really well. I just soaked in that experience,” she said yesterday in her striking red costume.

“I still hope to make it. I hope to qualify by winning here and then going to Germany where it probably will be as tough as in LA because all of the countries that were not able to qualify will try to qualify again,” she said.

Standing in her way are 10 other skaters, each one of them also hoping to make it to Germany and then to Vancouver. There’s only one home-grown skater in the group, 19-year-old Clarisse Roman. The rest are either Fil-Ams or based in the US.

Roman, the 2006 Grand Prix champion and 2007 National Youth Games gold medalist here, also won the gold in the juniors division of the tournament in Thailand last year, and is hoping that the experience can pull her through.

“I’m the only local skater here but I’m not really intimidated. It’s actually challenging,” said Roman.

The other competitors who flew in from the US just for this event are Grace Baldo, Katie Dano, Mercien Venzon, Elizabeth Stern, Katherine Magno, Kathrina Phan, Tamara Cebedo Sanford, Lauren Ko and Charlene Ang.

There are only two entries in the men’s side, and unfortunately one of them, Michael Dimalanta, pulled out in the last minute, leaving Dikki Martinez as the lone entry. To make it to Germany, all he needs to do is score a least 1.50.

On the side are other events like the pre-juvenile (7-8 years old), juvenile (9-10), intermediate (11-13), novice boys (-15), novice girls (12-14), junior boys and girls (-16) and senior boys and girls (+16).