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Fil-Am ice skater Athena Roberts wants to represent PH in the Olympics, but first she needs a passport
This is the entangled story of a teen Filipina American ice skater who dreams of representing the Philippines in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
Athena Calivoso Roberts, 18, was born in Greensboro, North Carolina to a Filipina mother from Manila and an American father from Pennsylvania.
From the age of 5, her parents Sheila Calivoso Roberts and Michael Roberts had seen her fascination with ice skating after she watched a performance on TV. Her parents encouraged her and bought her the skates, the leggings and the gloves. Seeing her dedication to the sport, they sent her abroad for training and competitions.
Today, 18-year-old world-class ice skater Athena Faith is eyeing the Olympics and hoping she can represent her mother’s homeland, the Philippines.
Except for a diplomatic wrinkle.
Athena is having difficulty acquiring her Philippine citizenship. The Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles could not issue her a passport because they did not receive Sheila’s US Divorce Decree paperwork from her ex-husband and that they could not issue a passport until a Philippine court issued a divorce decree, according to Athena’s father Michael, who spoke to The FilAm.
If she had her Philippine passport, he explained, she and her partner can compete for the Philippines.
There are two reasons Athena is hoping to carry the Philippine flag in the Olympics, he said: She is proud of her Filipino heritage and the Philippines has never had an ice dancer compete in the Olympics.
“We have been trying to get Athena her Philippines passport, but the LA Consulate made a mistake on processing her paperwork,” Michael asserted.
He has turned to the Philippine Consulate in New York to resurrect the application and the possibility that their officials may be able to help. He chanced upon Consul General Senen Mangalile while the Roberts family was watching the Filipinos on Broadway concert at 54 Below. He unabashedly approached the Congen about Athena’s dilemma. Mangalile, according to him, sounded “very nice and encouraging” and offered to look into Athena’s circumstances. He assigned the case to Vice Consul Paolo Mapula, who is currently in the process of vetting Athena’s competition record, her many medals and honors.
“We currently have the New York consulate looking into our situation,” said Michael.
“It is hard to speculate how the Department of Foreign Affairs will decide on the matter, but the important thing is we (will) try,” said Mapula when reached by The FilAm.
Mapula, however, offered another possibility of Athena possibly acquiring her Philippine citizenship. He pointed out, “Athena as Filipino, considering that her mother was already pregnant with her when she became a naturalized American citizen. The mother was willing to reacquire Philippine citizenship before Athena reached the age of majority.
“However, the application was rejected without providing the mother with a better way forward, which could have led to her application being given due course and to the derivative Philippine citizenship of her daughter, Athena. We will also show that Athena and her family are keen on having Athena represent the Philippines as an athlete.”
‘Dedicated, committed’ athlete
Sheila described her daughter, a freshman at Saint Leo (online) University near Tampa, Florida studying Criminology, as a “dedicated and committed” athlete.
“She knows she can do anything that she puts her mind to. She is reserved but when you get to know her she is funny and easy to get along with. She is coachable and open to learning new things. As my daughter, she is brave and courageous, respectful, and responsible and creative. She loves to travel,” was Sheila’s portrait of Athena, the youngest of her three children.
Athena is a world-class ice dancer who has competed in ISU Junior Grand Prix skating events in Gdansk, Poland and Linz, Austria. She competed in the 2023 ISU Junior World Ice Dance Championships in Calgary, Canada.
She is currently representing Spain in international competitions because her partner is from the country. She and her partner placed first (Gold Medal) in the 2023 Spain Junior National Ice Dance Championship.
She lives in London, Ontario in Canada where her training regimen consists of six hours on ice, two hours of dance lessons and one hour of yoga or weight training five days a week.
“She is brave, being on her own in Canada and doing the daily important things to be an independent woman, practicing self-care, eating right, working out, keeping track of her daily training schedules,” added Sheila.
Although she was born in the US and can well compete for the country, Michael said “there are so many skaters competing in the United States, it is very common for skaters to skate for other countries.”
The Roberts family, who operates a large laundromat franchise in North Carolina, is trying to pull all levers to get some assistance from other authorities within the Philippine government, including local politicians and sports officials.
Michael’s hope is for the Philippines to have the first-ever ice dance competitor in the Olympics. “It would be a great honor for Athena,” he said. —The FilAm
