FIL-AM SPEED SKATER  BAGS  BRONZE IN VANCOUVER OLYMPICS


[PHOTO AT LEFT - Fil-Am speed skater, J.R. Celski wins bronze in Winter Olympics]

MANILA, FEBRUARY 21, 2010 (STAR) By Pia Lee-Brago - A Filipino-American bagged the bronze medal in the Short Track Speed Skating category of the 2010 Winter Olympics currently being held in Vancouver, Canada.

The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that J.R. Celski, a Filipino-Polish speed skater, represented the United States.

Raised in Washington, Celski started inline skating at age three and transferred to short track speed skating in 2002.

He battled back from an injury he sustained five months ago to finish third at the competition with a time of 2:12.460 in the men’s 1500 meters.

Celski was unable to compete in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy because he missed the minimum age requirement by 17 days.

He had previously won two gold medals at the world championships and had already qualified for three Olympic events.

In a related development, Amanda Evora, a Filipino-American, together with partner Mark Ladwig, competed in the figure skating pair’s competition. They did not win a medal but came up with personal bests in their first ever Olympic games.

The 25-year-old Filipina, who trains in Florida, and Ladwig posted a personal best score during the competition. The tandem’s score of 114.06 points, based on difficulty of elements and grades of execution, was their best of the season by more than 15 points. Combined with their personal best in the short program Sunday, their total score of 171.92 points put them in 10th place.

Evora is considered to be the first person of full Filipino ancestry to represent the US in a Winter Olympic event. Her father Vic was born in Calapan, Mindoro while her mother Mary Anne was born in Ilagan, Isabela.

Evora began skating at age 6 and said her dream has always been to make it to the Olympics

FROM STAR SPORTS SECTION ON John Robert Celski

Fil-Am Olympic speed skater on Solar Sports (The Philippine Star) Updated February 21, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino-American speed skater John Robert Celski vie for the gold medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics as Solar TV will be airing the finals of both the 1,000-meter and 5,000-meter relay short track speed skating straight from Vancouver, British Columbia.

Celski came short of doing the feat in the 1,500-meter final as he settled for the bronze medal behind idol and American teammate Apolo Anton Ohno (silver) and gold medal winner Jung-Su Lee of Korea.

Solar TV broadcast the event where the fifth-running Celski finished third following a crash that ended the hopes of 2006 silver medalist Lee Ho-Suk of Korea and teammate Sung Si-Ba of making it to the winners’ podium.

The country’s No. 1 sports channel is slated to show the 5,000-meter relay short track speed skating final Feb. 26.

The 5-foot-8, 19-year old skater has a Polish father and Filipino mother. The youngest of three children, he was raised in Federal Way, Washington.

That Celski is competing among the 2,500 athletes from a record 82 countries is a story in itself.

During the US trials for the Winter Games five months ago, the speed skater out of Lakewood High School in Lakewood, California got involved in a full-speed crash that left him laying on the ice and bleeding profusely as his left thigh was sliced open by a skate blade.

The accident left him with a cut six inches wide and two inches deep, needing 60 stitches to close the wound.

But determined and motivated, the Fil-Am athlete slowly found his back into the rink and eventually, made his way back to the ice by Nov. 16, some eight weeks left before the Winter Games.

“After it happened, I knew I needed to get back on my feet, and the way to do that was not to think about it,” Celski said.

Previoulsy, Celski was a champion-class in-line skater, before shifting to speed skating after watching Ohno sees action in the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The speed skater who is very fond of Filipino foods such as adobo, sinigang and lechon, was a gold medal winner in the 3,000 meter and a member of the 5,000 meter relay team that also won the gold in the 2009 World Short Track Speed Skating Championship.

Another Fil-Am in Amanda Evora was not as fortunate as Celski.

Together with long-time partner Mark Ladwig, Evora only settled for 10th place in the figure skating pair event.

Celski and Evora are just some of the world-class athletes featured in the Games of which Solar TV and Solar Sports have set aside about 200 hours of live coverage, easily, making it the most comprehensive reporting of the event here in the country.

For details and schedule info, log on to www.solarsports.ph.