Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 18) – Two-time Winter Olympian Asa Miller vowed to come back stronger and more confident as he targets the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano and Cortina in Italy.
“We’ll have to see how things go four years from now, but I’ll certainly be a much stronger and much more developed skier if I continue skiing,” Miller said. “So I’m hoping to make another appearance in the 2026 Olympics, but let’s see what will happen.”
The 21-year-old Filipino American alpine skier concluded his second Winter Olympics stint on a sorry note as he failed to finish his runs in the giant slalom and slalom events.
Miller, the lone Filipino athlete in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, admitted he lost his confidence in his last slalom race due to the conditions of the very challenging Ice River course of the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre.
“The snow is very slippery and very hard, and I didn’t quite feel 100 percent confident on my skis. In ski racing, you have to be 100 percent confident in all you do. There was a little bit of hesitation that led to a mistake and it wasn’t my day,” Miller said.
After the Beijing Winter Olympics debacle, Miller looks forward to joining more future competitions that will help him qualify for the 2026 Games.
“It’s hard to see what will happen, but I’m more excited to represent the Philippines, maybe in the World Ski Championships next year and some stuff like that,” said Miller, who will also continue his studies as an Economics student at the Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.
If he gets a slot in the 2026 Italy Winter Olympics, the Oregon-born Miller will become the first Filipino athlete to compete in three Winter Olympic Games.
Miller has joined figure skater Michael Martinez as the only Filipino athletes who competed in two Winter Olympic editions.
