MANILA, Philippines – Fresh from her silver medal finish in the 2018 Philippine National Figure Skating Championships at the SM Mall of Asia last November 25-26, 15-year-old Gaby Panlilio is setting her sights on the 1st Children of Asia Winter Sport Games in Russia next February 2019.
The 1st Children of Asia Winter Sport Games is held under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee and UNESCO.
Panlilio, who scored 99.37 to Guidote’s 107.81, was also certified by Philippine Skating Union President Josefina Veguillas as one of the Philippines’ long-term bets to represent the country in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
“Overall, I’m happy with the performances I put out in these nationals,” said the young Panlilio, who goes to school at St. Paul’s College in Pasig City. “Although there were some mistakes, I was able to easily recover.”
Heading into the long program, Panlilio was running third behind Sofia Guidote and Skye Patenia, who eventually finished with a bronze medal. She nailed a double axel that she previously never completed during a national finals competition to vault into second place.
She eventually topped the technical element score for the long program with an aggregate score of 99.37; a personal best that also improved her performance at the World Junior Grand Prix in Canada last September.
“Now,” beamed a joyous Panlilio, “the next plan is to compete in the first ever Children of Asia Winter Games in Sakhalin, Russia.”
The 1st Children of Asia Winter Sports Games will feature competitions in six sports — biathlon, downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, figure skating, snowboarding, hockey, and short track. Eighteen countries will participate in the games that will be hosted by Russia in the Yuzhno-Sakhalinisk region.
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 on ice are four Philippine National Champion Awards in Figure Skating (2011, 2012, 2014, and 2016), silver medal finishes in the same tournament in 2013, 2015 and 2017. Gold medals in the 2012 ISI World Ice Figure Skating Challenge in Anaheim, California; as well as top podium finishes from 2012-15 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.