MANILA, Philippines – Although disappointed in his debut performance, Peter Groseclose has no time to be downcast as there is more work to do in the Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon, South Korea.
The Filipino-American short track speed skater suffered an early exit in the men’s 1500m category at the Gangneung Ice Arena on Saturday, January 20.
Groseclose, 16, failed to reach the semifinals as he finished fifth out of six skaters in his quarterfinal heat topped by eventual gold winner Joo Jae-hee of host South Korea.
But Groseclose has a pair of chances to redeem himself as he sees action in the 1000m and 500m events on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
“It’s a disappointing result but we’re going to keep looking forward until the next race,” said two-time Olympic medalist John-Henry Krueger, who coaches Groseclose in Gangwon.
“Peter is still motivated although he is not happy with the result. I understand because he holds himself to a high standard, so we have to be positive.”
Clocking 2:20.575, Groseclose ran third early in the race before being overtaken by Great Britain’s Willem Murray and Belgium’s Lowie Dekens, who both advanced to the semifinals.
Joo delivered as expected, bagging the top prize with a time of 2:21.906 in the final as he edged China’s Zhang Xinzhe (2:22.095) and compatriot Kim You-sung (2:22.148) for the gold.
“It was a difficult first race and was one of the fastest races for the day,” said Krueger.
“Peter was aggressive in his passing but some of the bumps and normal stuff that goes on in the short track, I think it didn’t go through his way until the end.”
Meanwhile, freestyle skier Laetaz Amihan Rabe has started training ahead of her events on January 24 and 28, while cross-country skier Avery Balbanida will arrive in Gangwon on January 25. – Rappler.com
