Edrian Paul Celestino tops first part of PHSU's Winter Olympics qualifier evaluation

Edrian Paul Celestino topped the first part of the Philippine Skating Union Olympic Qualifier Evaluation released on Friday night.

The assessment, which was conducted virtually, is part of the screening process to determine who will be the country's representative to the Nebelhorn Trophy, a qualifying competition for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. Each contestant submitted an unedited footage of their free skate and short program and were previewed by international judges.

Celestino registered 139.90 in the first part of the evaluation, outscoring Southeast Asian Games medalist Christopher Caluza (137.39) and two-time Winter Olympian Michael Martinez (115.32).

The 23-year old Canada-based skater said he was surprised with the result of the virtual competition.

“If I’m honest, I would say I was a bit surprised considering the fact I didn’t have as much time for training as I would have wanted," Celestino said. "Then again, I think I'm pretty pleased and my coach and I do know that our routine, that we've established over the course of three years of working together, is something that we've definitely trusted and carried on into the virtual competition."

Celestino said compared to his previous competitions before the coronavirus pandemic hit, he had a shorter time preparing for this virtual competition, taking into consideration as well the health protocols imposed in their area.

"Training was more scarce than usual, but thankfully, as we had the announcement saying that we were having a virtual competition, the conditions and circumstances in Canada did become easier and lenient, which allowed me to be able to train at least 2-3 hours a day on the ice," he said.

Aside from time constraints, Celestino added that one of the challenges he faced as well prior to the competition was mentally preparing for it after a long break.

"The mental aspect definitely made me nervous every single day, especially leading to that virtual competition, but I think I coped pretty well," Celestino told GMA News Online.

The music he used in the short program, "In this Shirt" by The Irrepressibles, was suggested by Celestino's coach, but the skater said he easily connected to it.

"We thought this piece of music would definitely fit me the most, and I definitely have an emotional bond to it because of how raw the music is."

While Celestino ruled this part of the evaluation, this does not necessarily mean he will be the Philippines' representative to Nebelhorn.

The three contestants still need to individually compete in an international event, and the scores from the virtual event and the in-person competition will be added to determine who will be sent to the Olympic qualifiers in Germany.

The Nebelhorn Trophy is scheduled on September 22-25.

PHSU said that the same process will be used for the selection of the country's female representatives.

—JMB, GMA News