FOUR years older and wiser and Asa Miller is more confident this time of conquering China’s snowy mountains in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
“I was 17 in my first Olympics and now I’m 21, I believe I have gained a lot of insight and knowledge around the sport while also being able to improve my overall abilities,” Miller told BusinessMirror from his base in Salt Lake City on Sunday.
The Filipino-American Miller made his Winter Olympics debut in Pyeongchang 2018 where he wound up 70th out of 110 participants with a time of two minutes and 49.95 seconds. Figure skater Michael Martinez was the only other Filipino in Pyeongchang.
Miller is the country’s lone qualifier for Beijing for having surpassed the International Skiing Federation threshold of 160 points. He has since 2018 been honing in the US and Europe.
“My experience will help separate me from the others and give myself a better chance to ski my best in February,” he said. “I’m so excited, I think the last time was when I’m just getting the experience to represent the Philippines.”
“Now at 21, I have a much better understanding or perspective of what’s going to anticipate there,” he added.
He will be competing against 150 other athletes in the February 4 to 20 Games, the second Olympics Beijing is hosting after the 2008 Summer Games.
Athletes from Norway, Austria, France and the US dominate Miller’s event but he said he’s prepared for the competition.
“I have no placement goals, but I hope to showcase the best of my abilities in the competition, and give a proud representation of the Philippines at the Games,” said Miller, an Economics Major at Westminster College also in Salt Lake City.
He is coached and trained by American Will Gregorak, a top 50 giant slalom skier in the world.
Miller’s father is American, Kelly works at Microsoft as a program manager, while his mother, Polly Bisquera, is originally from Manila. His 16-year-old sister Kaia is a competitive gymnast and volleyball player.