Winter Sports of the Philippines Debuts at Asian Winter Games

The Winter Sports of the Philippines will make its official debut as the country sends a record 20-athlete delegation to the ninth Asian Winter Games, scheduled for February 7-14, 2025, in Harbin, China.

This is a milestone for the country’s winter sports program, as the athletes aim to prepare for a potential medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

“We’ve already accomplished the dream in the Summer Olympics,” said Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino. “And that dream, we want to also achieve in the Winter Olympics.”

The delegation, the largest ever for the Philippines at the Winter Games, will compete in six of the 11 sports featured in Harbin, including curling, figure skating, alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, short track speed skating, and snowboarding.

Curling will feature the largest contingent with 10 athletes, including Marc Angelo Pfister, Enrico Gabriel Pfister, and Jessica Pfister, representing the Curling Winter Sports of the Philippines, which was established late last year.

Other athletes include Paolo Borromeo, Aleksandr Korovin, Cathryn Limketkai, and Sofia Frank in figure skating; Francis Ceccarelli and Talullah Proulx in alpine skiing; Laetaz Amihan Rabe in freestyle skiing; Peter Joseph Groseclose in short track speed skating; and Adrian Tongco in snowboarding.

“The Winter Olympics are as extremely tough as the Summer Olympics, but we have proven that it could be done,” Tolentino said, reflecting on the nation’s recent success in the Olympics, including Hidilyn Diaz’s historic gold medal in Tokyo 2021 and Carlos Yulo’s two golds in Paris 2024.

Harbin, which hosted the games in 1996, will feature 64 events this year. Japan remains the dominant team in the Asian Winter Games, followed by China and Kazakhstan.

The team, managed by chef de mission Richard Lim, represents the growing ambition of the Philippines to expand its presence and competitiveness in winter sports.