Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 26) – Filipino figure skaters Edrian Celestino and Sofia Frank failed to qualify for the 2022 Winter Olympics, after competing against a tough field at the Nebelhorn Trophy 2021 in Oberstdorf, Germany.
The Canada-born Celestino garnered a total of 176.10 points to finish 18th overall out of 30 male figure skaters in the last Beijing Winter Olympics qualifying event. He placed 16th in the short program with 64.32 points and 18th in the free skate with 111.78 points.
Only the top seven male figure skaters grabbed the tickets to Beijing, led by gold medalist Vincent Zhou of the United States, silver medalist Mark Kondraktiuk of Russia, and bronze medalist Adam Siao Him Fa of France.
In the distaff side, Frank finished 24th overall out of 37 female figure skaters with 128.78 points.
The 15-year-old Frank ranked 22nd in the short program with 47.65 points.
In her free skate routine, Frank got off to a strong start but fell twice in the middle of her performance for a four-point deduction. She finished the event with 81.73 points, good for 29th place.
Six female figure skaters clinched direct qualification to the Beijing Winter Olympics, which include gold medalist Alysia Liu of the United States, silver medalist Ekaterina Kurakova of Poland, and bronze medalist Viktoriia Safonova of Belarus.
A consolation for Celestino and Frank was that their technical scores in Germany met the qualification to the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, a prestigious figure skating tilt for non-European countries sanctioned by the International Skating Union.
