He is still set to compete in other event on Monday.
On Saturday, February 14, the Philippines’ representative to the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy, Francis Ceccarelli, made his official debut in the men’s giant slalom event.
Held in the town of Bormio, the alpine skier had two separate runs. In his first run, he landed 57th place after recording a time of 1:27.36 minute.
In his second try, Ceccarelli saw a slight improvement, positioning himself higher in the leaderboard at 54th place with 1:20.87 minute.
Totalling 2:48.23 minutes, the Filipino rep was a over 23 seconds behind eventual gold medalist Lucas Braathen from Brazil.
In spite of that result, the 22-year-old still has a chance in the quadrennial meet, as he is scheduled to return to the snow for another round of action at the men’s slalom event on Monday, February 16 (local time).
Meanwhile, in a post on Sunday, the Philippine Ski and Snowboarding Federation disclosed a new milestone that he achieved.
At the Olympic Village in Bormio, Ceccarelli was formally welcomed by an OLY official representative, where he was presented with the prestigious OLY pin.
It is regarded as a “symbol reserved for athletes who have earned the right to carry the Olympic legacy beyond competition,” the post read.
With that honor, he is now part of the global community of Olympians who may officially use the OLY designation after their name. Thus, this makes him Francis Ceccarelli, OLY.
Aside from him, also competing in this edition of the Winter Games is Tallulah Proulx, who will be in women’s slalom and women’s giant slalom events.