Getting a feel of the track

Athletes train for the speed-skating event at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, at the 2022 Winter Olympics on Saturday. Beijing is the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics, with the Summer Games being held there in 2008.

-reuters-

Asa Miller finishes 70th in Olympic Alpine skiing

Filipino-American skier Asa Miller wrapped up his first ever Winter Olympics stint by placing 70th in the Alpine skiing event on Sunday morning in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The 17-year-old Miller was in 81st place after his first run, with a time of 1:27.52.

But he rose 11 places after a strong second run that he completed with a time of 1:22.43.

His combined time of 2:49.95 was good for 70th among a total of 110 skiers.

Miller, who was raised in Oregon, was 31.91-seconds off the gold medalist, Marcel Hirscher of Austria, who had a time of 2:18.04.

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen was second with a time of 2:19.31, while France's Alexis Pinturault settled for bronze with a time of 2:19.35.

Miller was the Philippines' flag-bearer in the opening ceremonies, and is one of only two Filipinos in the Olympics. The other, Michael Martinez, competed in men's figure skating.

In giant slalom, the gates are spaced at a greater distance to each other than in slalom but not as far apart as in the super-G, a later development.

While giant slalom lacks the raw speed of the downhill and super-G, the technique shown by the skiers as they carve their way down the slope can be breathtaking.

Although it is one of Alpine skiing’s technical rather than speed events, the top skiers can still get up to 40 kph on the giant slalom course and crashes can be dramatic. – With Reuters

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Olympics: Triumph after tears as Nagasu makes skating history

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- Four years ago, American figure skater Mirai Nagasu was heartbroken after being left off the U.S. team for the Sochi Olympics in favor of a woman who ranked lower than she had at a key qualifying event.

But on Monday, the woman whose Japanese immigrant parents run a sushi restaurant, made skating history by becoming the first American woman -- and only the third woman overall -- to land the fiendishly difficult triple Axel jump at an Olympics.


Skating a stellar routine in the women's free skate portion of the team competition, Nagasu began with a clean triple Axel and then went on to nail eight other triple jumps, including a triple flip and triple Salchow combination as she helped America claim bronze.

Clearly overjoyed, the 24-year-old Nagasu, who was skating at her second Olympics, pumped her fists and grinned as she skated off the ice.

"I feel really great," she said after her performance. "Going into it, I was like a train, get on those tracks and get some speed. To nail it the way I did - and even out of the corner of my eye, I could see my team mates standing in excitement."

The only other women to land the jump in the Olympics were Japanese skaters Midori Ito and Mao Asada, and Nagasu joked that perhaps her ancestry had played a part.

"Maybe it's the Japanese genetics -- but lucky for me I'm American, so I'll be the first U.S. lady," she said after her performance.

She was snubbed for Sochi in 2014 despite finishing third in the U.S. nationals as the selectors handed the Olympic berth to Ashley Wagner, who finished fourth.

"Four years ago I was crying with Adam Rippon because we both didn't make the team," she said, referring to the men's singles skater. "So for both of us to be on the team... is super exciting."

Nagasu was born to Japanese immigrant parents who run a sushi restaurant in California, where she grew up. Her first name means 'future' in Japanese and she reportedly speaks a mixture of Japanese and English at home with her parents.

She began skating at the age of five and idolized two-time Olympic medalist and skater Michelle Kwan. As her career took off, she said it was sometimes difficult to keep going on the income from a restaurant.

HAND-SEWN COSTUMES 

"My mom also made a lot of my skating costumes," Nagasu said on a conference call in January. "She also, like Michelle's mom, sewed sequins on one by one and I would complain that they were not as shiny as the rocky crystals because we got ours at Target and Michael's."

Nagasu says that while in general she turns to comedy and laughter to reduce pressure at big events like the Olympics, overcoming the heartbreak of missing the Sochi team was tough.

"I was very upset for a very long time. But I changed myself and became a better skater," she told the conference call. "I honestly don't think that I would have worked as hard on the triple Axel if I didn't have that time to really contemplate."

Unfortunately, her parents weren't there to see her make history. Nagasu has said that her sushi chef father rarely had the chance to see her skate because he almost never closed his restaurant, and now is no different.

"Three weeks is a long time, especially to leave work," she said. "They're only coming for the last week but I'm sure they're home now watching it. I can't wait to see them." 

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Don't mention the score: N. Korean media silent on 8-0 loss

SEOUL - North Korean media lauded the players and supporters of the unified Korean women's ice hockey team Sunday after their first match at the Olympics -- without mentioning their 8-0 drubbing.

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of the North's leader Kim Jong Un, was on hand to watch the game against Switzerland with her country's ceremonial head of state and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

The match was a political event as much as a sporting one, with the unified team -- the Koreas' first for 27 years, and first ever at the Olympics -- part of a deal forged last month and a symbol of Moon's hopes for a "peace Olympics".

And Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency focused on the team and the North Korean cheerleaders rather than the 8-0 defeat -- mentioning neither the outcome nor the score in its dispatch.

"The appearance of the players and the impressive picture of the cheering groups once again made the spectators feel keenly that the Korean nation is a... nation which can't live separated from each other," it said.

Cheering spectators from both Koreas "burst into warm applause and cheers" to support players "skillfully driving the puck, calling each other by the same language and pooling efforts", it added. 

The unified team is made up of 23 Southern players and 12 Northerners, with at least three from the North required to be on the starting roster of 22.

But the last-minute decision to form the team was slammed by many South Koreans, who accused Moon of using athletes for political purposes and robbing Seoul's own citizens of opportunities to compete at the Olympics.

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Winter Olympics: Topless Tongan's secret weapon vs freezing cold? Coconut oil

The Tongan flag-bearer's secret has been revealed: it was coconut oil that kept him warm when he paraded half-naked at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.

Pita Taufatofua braved bitter cold to go topless at the ceremony, where real-feel temperatures were down at minus 10 degrees Celsius.

But while many wondered how he could march in only a traditional skirt and sandals without getting frostbite, the answer lies in the oil he had liberally applied to his torso.

"Pita secretly brought his tiny bottle of coconut oil in his pocket," Louise Waterhouse, Tonga's Honorary Consul in Sydney, told the Matangi Tonga Online website.

"And just before Tonga's marching time, when the march organizers saw what Pita was doing, they were then so helpful and even gave him a little side room to keep warm immediately before the entrance to the stadium."

Coconut oil is, apparently, a traditional Tongan remedy to ward off cold. 

Taufatofua was also heavily greased up when he appeared similarly undressed at the Rio 2016 Olympics opening ceremony, causing a major stir online -- and he again became a global sensation with his latest antics.

While other athletes either skipped Friday's sub-zero ceremony, or made sure they wrapped up warm -- Team USA had battery-powered, heated jackets -- Taufatofua just needed his coconut oil.

"Pita's honorary coach Thomas Jacob had his jacket in his back pack -- ready to put on in the stand," said Waterhouse, who is supporting Team Tonga in Pyeongchang. 

"But Pita said to me afterwards at the athletes village: 'I wasn't cold walking -- the coconut oil kept me warm. It was only once I was seated that I became cold,'" she added.

"He is absolutely fine and naturally chuffed that he could pull off his coup again and so proud to do it for Tonga. He has again put Tonga on the world map."

Taufatofua competed in taekwondo in Rio, before switching to cross-country and qualifying for Pyeongchang -- after a journey which included training with planks strapped to his feet in sweltering Australian heat.

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Winter Olympics: Korean alphabet puts hottest nations first in opening parade

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea—Greece, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa. Those will be the first countries to emerge at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea on Friday.

That's because the Korean alphabet, known as Hangeul, starts with a sound similar to a "g" in English, followed by a sound close to an "n".

Olympic teams always enter after Greece, birthplace of the modern Games, and then in alphabetical order according to their names in the host nation's language, which has usually been Roman script.

Invented by a Korean king, Sejong the Great, as an alternative to complicated Chinese characters, Hangeul is a 600-year-old writing system used in both North and South Korea.

What might appear as a jumble of circles, lines and squares to the uninitiated, Hangeul is lauded for its accessibility and scientific approach.

That's in part because it is a phonetic script, and some letters are designed to emulate the shape of the speaker's mouth when pronounced. "A wise man could learn it in a morning," King Sejong is said to have written.

"A stupid man could learn it in 10 days." (Reporting by James Pearson; Editing by Mark Bendeich)

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Olympics: Fans flock to cheer joint Korean ice hockey team

INCHEON, South Korea -- South Korean fans chanting "We are one" and wearing shirts with the unification flag emblazoned on the front packed into a freezing ice hockey arena on Sunday to cheer on the joint Korean women's team in a tune-up for this month's Winter Olympics.

North and South Korea agreed last month to field a combined women's ice hockey team and march together under one flag in Pyeongchang after a new round of talks amid a thaw in cross-border relations.

With some 3,000 fans packed into Seonhak International Ice Rink in Incheon, the Koreans, who have only practiced together for a week, lost 3-1 to Sweden.

While the result was a disappointment, hopes are high that the unified team could help improve ties.

"I am excited," said Park Cheol-hyun, who came to watch the game with his wife and son.

"Even though the nuclear issue may not be resolved immediately, it will be good for the longer term if the two Koreas get closer. Otherwise, there is no way to resolve it."

While the reaction to the North's decision to participate in the Winter Games was met warmly in the South, the decision to form a combined women’s ice hockey team sparked a public backlash.

Critics said adding North Korean players to the South's roster at the last minute would mean missed opportunities for home players and could hurt team chemistry.

The International Olympic Committee said 12 North Korea players would join the South's 23-player squad. The game day roster will continue to be 22 and the team has to include at least three North Koreans.

The North will also send athletes to take part in figure skating, short track speed skating, cross-country and Alpine skiing at the February 9-25 Games.

The controversy has hit the popularity of South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who hoped that the upcoming Olympics would pave the way for a breakthrough in resolving North Korea's nuclear issue.

“I think young people have hostility about the North because they only heard bad things about North Korea for the past nine years," said 19-year-old Chae Hyun-min, who was waiting in line to enter the stadium in freezing cold weather.

"This is the first step, and will bring the two Koreas one step closer to peace. The perceptions of young people will change gradually," he said.

Ahead of the game, conservative groups held protests and tore up a North Korean flag. They called for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to step down.

“The unified team is politically contaminated," 58-year-old Cho Young-hwan said, calling Moon "the puppet” of the North Korean leader.

"The Olympics offered an opportunity for the North to publicise its propaganda and create a conflict within South Korea.

"In this situation, how can the two Koreas be unified?" asked Cho, who is from Gangwon Province where the Winter Games will be staged. 

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USOC chief backs athlete protests

PARK CITY, Utah - Athletes should feel free to express their political opinions during next February's Winter Games in Pyeongchang despite strict Olympic rules barring such demonstrations, the head of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) said on Monday.

Referring to Sunday's protest by over 100 NFL players, who went down on one knee during the national anthem to protest against racial inequality, USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said athletes had a right to air their opinions.

"The athletes you see protesting are protesting because they love their country, not because they don't," he said.

"So we fully support that our athletes and everybody else to express themselves."

Blackmun acknowledged that the situation is trickier given the International Olympic Committee charter, which specifically bans "demonstrations of political, religious or racial propaganda" at Olympic venues.

"We have a little bit of a different state of play when it comes to the Olympic Games."

Blackmun praised the 1968 Olympic protest by American track and field athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who gave a black power salute from the podium in Mexico City, sparking controversy. Smith later stated that the gesture was a "human rights salute".

"That was a seminal moment not only for the Olympic movement but the U.S. Olympic team and we recognized them last year by bringing them to the White House," he said.

Several Olympic hopefuls backed the protesting NFL players but said on Monday that it was too soon to say what they may do if they find themselves in a similar position.

"I respect what those guys did and I do believe there is a lot of room for social change. As a person of color I do think it's something that we need to address," said Elana Meyers, an American bobsled pilot and two-time Winter Olympic medalist.

"But at the Olympics, the only time you get to hear your national anthem is if you win a gold medal.

"So it is going to come down to a game time decision."

Julia Mancuso, an alpine skier and four-time Olympic medalist, also supports the NFL players but said the dynamics are different for Olympic athletes.

"When it comes to the Olympics, I like to think that it's a special event not just like the NFL or pro sports teams that compete every weekend. For us it's every four years," she said.

"I'm proud of athletes that stand up for what they believe in... but I also like to think of us all as very patriotic athletes."

(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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LOOK: Pinoy Olympic skater Michael Martinez shows off buffed physique

Filipino Olympic figure skater Michael Christian Martinez recently surprised fans by showing off a well-chiseled physique.


In 2014, he made Olympic history by becoming the first Southeast Asian to ever compete in the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

As a 17-year-old with a reed-thin figure back then, Martinez was one of the newest Filipino sports heroes who made it on the Olympic stage despite limited funding.

Martinez is seeking to make it to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea next year.

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Carson City honors Michael Martinez

CARSON CITY - Injuries couldn't slow down Michael Christian Martinez from celebrating with the Filipino community last Friday night, as he was honored by the City of Carson for his history-making Winter Olympics appearance.

The 17-year-old figure skater withdrew from the upcoming Junior World Championships in Bulgaria earlier that day.

"I just feel very very sad. I was hoping I could compete but 3 of my coaches said no because you need to conserve your body to prepare for the next 4 years, the next Winter Olympics, even my doctor said no. Ako lang naging yes," Martinez said.

Since the Olympics, Martinez has not been able to practice.

His history of back and knee injuries only made matters worse before coaches and doctors decided to withdraw him from the Junior Worlds.

"Time na rin to rest and to take time to heal my injuries kasi last year I really prepared for the 2014 Olympics so walang time makapag-heal ng injuries," he said.

"If he finishes in top 10 he will get points for that which will increase his world ranking so that's one of the effects but considering what the dangers is right now, it's still better for him to withdraw and earn points next season in other competitions," his mother Teresa said.

Despite the disappointment, Martinez was all smiles at a special celebration.

He was given a certificate of recognition from the city of Carson where his Zumba family has spearheaded many of his fundraisers.

Disney and Broadway star Anna Maria Perez DeTagle also came to meet the Olympian.

"I'm very proud of him and I hope that he will accomplish greater things," she said.

The help for Martinez continues, as a local physical therapist has also stepped up to help Martinez rehabilitate his injuries.

"First I have to assess him in our place I'll be thinking of aquatic... So we want to promote low impact exercises for him," Henrick Macalintal of the Motion Plus Aquatic Therapy Center said.

"It's so heartwarming and I'm really thankful that God is giving me everything that I needed," Martinez said.

Martinez will stay in the US for about a couple more weeks to begin some rehab before he heads back home to the Philippines.

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'Epic' Olympics opening ceremony a triumph for Putin

PARIS - The world press hailed the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics as a triumph and show of power for Russian President Vladimir Putin seeking to showcase the post-Soviet revival of the former superpower.

Despite an embarrassing technical glitch at the start, there was general praise for the dazzling spectacle in the Black Sea resort, along with a dose of criticism over these Games' unprecedented price tag of $50 billion and the host country's rights record.

"A swaggering, resurgent Russia turned its Winter Olympic aspirations into reality," wrote the New York Times.

The stunning show of light that whisked spectators through centuries of Russian history was "epic," said the Sydney Morning Herald, its "scale bordered on the colossal," according to the Washington Post, a "gasp-inducing, visual journey," according to The Daily Telegraph.

"The opening ceremony is a big moment to let the President, under the spotlight, stress the revival of the great nation," wrote Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun.

"For Russia last night it marked its revival as a post-Soviet powerhouse, confident of its seat at the top table after two decades of doubt and despondency," wrote Jonathan McEvoy in Britain's Daily Mail.

"This was an unapologetic advert -- history on Russia's terms.

"There was no doubt who was the all-action hero of this piece. The light on the presidential box remained on when all others were switched off, in case anyone did not get the message," he wrote.

"Mr. Putin's ultimate goal is to regain its pride and boost patriotism and national prestige," wrote the Mainichi Shimbun in Japan.

Missing Ring

The ceremony got off to a shaky start when one of five illuminated snowflakes which were supposed to morph into the Olympic rings failed to appear, leaving an embarrassing set of just four rings.

Many pointed out that the missing ring was one representing the Americas, home of Russia's Cold War foe the United States, with whom it has repeatedly sparred over the past several years.

The US president joined several other key Western leaders in staying away from the Games in what is seen by many as a snub over Russia's now notorious anti-gay law.

Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitung called the mishap "silent propaganda."

The ceremony "highlighted the beauty of the Russian culture and strength of the Russian spirit ...(but) did little to lift the cloud of uneasiness hanging over a Games that began amid protests over Russian anti-gay laws and fear over terrorism," wrote the Los Angeles Times.

"For President Putin it is a chance to show off Russia as a resurgent superpower, but his efforts have been hampered by a plethora of problems and criticism from the gay community, human rights groups and even animal rights activists," wrote The Times in Britain.

Many Italian newspapers saw the multi-coloured uniforms of Germany -- the team's outfits were blue, yellow, green, white -- as a challenge to Russia's anti-gay law since they echoed the multi-coloured gay pride flag.

Criticism criticized

The price tag for the games in Sochi had come in at an unprecedented and staggering $50 billion amid cries of protest that corruption has seen much of the money siphoned off and that concerns for the environment had been discarded.

"Rarely have Olympic Games been personified or excessive to this point. Vladimir Putin, the Tsar of the Kremlin, worked alone for Sochi's destiny. Without worrying about the staggering costs or the flouted human rights," wrote France's L'Equipe sports newspaper.

"There was a lot of Russian-tinted pride to tell the world that the power of yesteryear is back," wrote Italy's La Stampa. But "the show was too big and costly for a Winter Olympics."

China's press said highlighting such concerns in the Games coverage only exposed the Western media bias.

"Booing Sochi only shows West's bigotry," wrote the Global Times newspaper, close to the ruling Communist Party.

"Since the ending of the Cold War, only the 2008 Beijing Games and the ongoing Sochi Games have experienced such criticism."

Russians swell with pride
Russians meanwhile gushed at the "fairy tale" spectacle, saying it restored pride missing for too long in the former superpower.

"We missed this for so many years... a pride for our country, a feeling for her power, unity and greatness. We missed this feeling, to be great people of a great power. Yesterday, we felt it," wrote the Moskovsky Komsomolets.

"Many of us feared that the ceremony would turn into a demonstration of might and power. This did not happen. It was humane and not just for export -- it was addressed at Russians as much as foreigners," wrote the Sport Express Daily.

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