Miller is currently the only athlete representing the Philippines in the winter sporting event in Beijing.
After meeting the standard in two qualifying events, Filipino-American alpine skier Asa Miller is now Beijing-bound to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics.
He will be the sole athlete representing the Philippines in the games and will be competing against 150 other skiers from across the globe in the slalom and giant slalom events.
The 21-year-old made the announcement on his social media page on Tuesday, December 21.
“Hi everyone! I’m extremely excited to announce that I will be making my second Olympic appearance in Beijing 2022! Big thank you to everyone who’s helped me on my skiing journey so far,” Miller wrote.
Jim Palomar, president of the Philippine Ski and Snowboard Federation (PSSF), also confirmed Miller’s qualification in the quadrennial sporting competition, which runs from February 4 to 20 next year.
Miller is also expected to be the country’s flag bearer in the winter event’s opening ceremony on February 4.
According to Palomar, Miller punched his ticket to his second straight Winter Olympics after meeting the qualifying score of 160 points or lower for each of the two events. He earned 68.56 points in slalom and 63.83 points in giant slalom from the International Ski Federation (ISF) during his pre-Olympic qualification process.
With Miller’s participation, the Philippines has filled the sole quota slot allotted by the ISF in the two events. The federation is expected to finalize the list of athletes on January 15.
“Ever since he became one of our athletes and he qualified for Pyeongchang (2018 Winter Olympics) and now Beijing, he really progressed well,” said Apelar.
Should the Philippines be granted another slot by the ISF, it would go to another hopeful in 17-year-old Brandon Leitner, who also met the threshold required for the Winter Games.
Born in Portland, Oregon, Miller, whose mother hails from Santa Cruz, Manila, also represented the Philippines in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, where he ranked 70th out of 110 competitors in the giant slalom event.
Art Daniella Sison
