GANGWON, South Korea—Peter Groseclose sees action in the first of his three events at the Fourth Winter Youth Olympic Games on Saturday morning and although he admits that the 1,500 meters of short track of speedskating isn’t his forte, his getting all the boosts he needs.
“I want him to gain a lot of experience from high-pressure situations like this and get the best results as an athlete,” said his coach John-Henry Krueger, who clinched a speedskating silver for the US at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics and a mixed team bronze as a naturalized athlete for Hungary in Beijing 2022.
“He is a contender for a medal here,” added Krueger of Groseclose, who’ll be at the 12,000-seat Gangneung Ice Arena for the 1,500m starting at 11 a.m. (10 a.m. in Manila competing against athletes from 33 other nations.
Julian Macaraeg, one of two Philippine athletes at the Lausanne 2020 games, also told BusinessMirror that Groseclose is capable of stealing the show.
“There’re a lot of countries which have been preparing their athletes for this moment, but Peter’s been doing the same…if not more,” said Macaraeg, now 20, who reached the 500 meters quarterfinals but missed advancing in the 1,000 and 1,500 in Lausanne.
“From the results I’ve seen in his past races, I believe Peter has a great chance to be on the podium,” added Macaraeg, who was joined in Lausanne by alpine skier Ana Noelle Wahleithner.
Groseclose knows the 1,500m is his weakest event, but stressed he’ll go for it no matter what.
“To be honest, it is my weakest distance, but I’m not bad at it, I’m more of a sprinter and this is more of an endurance race,” said the 16-year-old Washington DC-based Groseclose on Friday.
“But I will do my best and I can be competitive to it,” added Groseclose, who had to skip Friday’s opening ceremony so as not to tire himself for the first of his three events in these games.
The games opened simultaneously at the Gangneung Oval and Pyeongchang Dome on Friday with freestyle skier Laetaz Amihan Rabe as the lone flag-bearer during the parade of athletes.
Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and secretary-general Atty. Wharton Chan and chef de mission Ada Milby attended the opening ceremony for the games.
“Short track is very unpredictable. So as a coach, I want him to focus on every race just one at a time and not thinking too far down the road,” Krueger said. “If that’s a good race, that’s great. If that’s bad, we have to focus on the next.”
“The general consensus is [host] South Korea is the most powerful team in the World Cup junior competitions, but I’m really glad and ready to compete against them so let’s see,” Groseclose said.
“These Youth Olympics happen once in a lifetime, they happen every four years and I’m glad to have this opportunity to get an experience and be part of this event,” said Groseclose, who will also see action in the 1000m on Sunday and 500m on Monday.
Macaraeg said that what Groseclse also needs is to have fun and be at his competitive best.
“It’s normal to be nervous competing at a stage like this, but in all honesty, this is a place to just enjoy and be in the moment,” said the Business Economics sophomore at UCLA. “Peter’s a great young skater who has so much potential. Having the Youth Olympics as probably his biggest stage yet is definitely going to be a memory of a lifetime.”
“I’ll be rooting for Peter. I’ve been staying up to date with his performances this year and I’m excited to see what he’s able to give to the table,” he added.
The third athlete on Team Philippines, Avery Balbanida, is arriving here on January 25 ahead of the crosscountry skiing events on January 29 and 30.
Krueger, Macaraeg give Groseclose big boost at Winter Youth Olympics | Josef Ramos - BusinessMirror
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