15-year-old skating star Diane Gabrielle Panlilio has set her sights on the 1st Children of Asia Winter Sports Games in Russia next February 2019. She has just completed the 2018 Philippine National Figure Skating Championships with a silver medal.
Gaby Panlilio, as she is more famously known, has been identified by the Philippine’s Skating Union President Josefina Veguillas as one of the nation’s long-term bets to represent the country in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Panlilio recently began training under the watchful eye of Korean skating coach Ryu Jong Hyun, who first trained world champion Yuna Kim — winner of gold medals in the Winter Olympics, the World Championships, Four Continents Championships, Grand Prix Finals, World Junior Championships and Junior Grand Prix Finals.
Among Panlilio’s achievements include four Philippine’s National Champion Awards in Figure Skating (2011, 2012, 2014, and 2016),. Gold medals in the 2012 ISI World Ice Figure Skating Challenge in Anaheim, California, top podium finishes from 2012 to 2015 in the Asian Juniors Figure Skating Challenge in Hong Kong, and the gold medal and overall champion award in the 2014 Southeast Asian Trophy in Bangkok, Thailand.
The 1st Children of Asia Winter Sport Games is held under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee and UNESCO. The inaugural competition will feature competitions in six events - biathlon, downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, figure skating, hockey, snowboarding, and short track. Eighteen countries will participate in the games that will be hosted by Russia in the Yuzhno-Sakhalinisk region.
Source: Philstar
Photo: Philstar