YANQING, CHINA—Asa Miller skipped training at the National Alpine Skiing Centre on Friday to rest his muscles following three consecutive days of practice session since arriving here on Monday morning.
Also, Miller looked forward to bearing the country’s colors at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics which was scheduled on Friday night at the iconic National Stadium in Beijing which is also called “The Bird’s Nest.”
“While skiing comes in short bursts of energy, it’s extremely taxing on muscles and I’m choosing to let my body heal to hopefully alleviate some of the small pains I’m experiencing currently,” said Miller, an Economics major at the Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.
His father Kelly Miller agreed.
“We decided to take today off, some rest for his sore muscles,” Kelly Miller said from the Yanqing Olympic Village before they boarded a bus for the two-hour trip to “The Bird’s Nest,” which also hosted the opening and closing ceremony of the Summer Olympics 14 years ago.
The young Miller underwent two-hour training sessions—alternating on the giant slalom and slalom of men’s alpine skiing—at the competition venue on the slopes of Xiaohaituo Mountain.
His competitions are scheduled on February 13 and 16.
The Millers will meet up with Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, Chef de Mission Bones Floro, Philippine Ski and Snowboard Federation President Jim Apelar who will also join the parade of athletes that highlights the one-hour and 40-minute opening ceremony that starts at 8 p.m.
The Philippines walks into the 80,000 seat stadium at No. 69 among 91 participating nations with Miller again playing the flag-bearer’s role in his second straight Olympic appearance.
“It’s good that we started with the slalom skis,” said Miller, who thanked the Philippine Sports Commission led by Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez for supporting his campaign here. “We’re starting to adjust to the snow and it’s different from where I normally ski, but it’s all good.”
Alpine skiing, one of 15 disciplines on the Games program, will be held at the National Alpine Skiing Centre on the slopes of Xiaohaituo Mountain.
The Millers said they will decide on Saturday morning whether to return to the mountain or strategize on the skiers game plan on Saturday.
“We’ll decide on how Asa feels later,” Kelly Miller said.
It wasn’t immediately known how many fans will be allowed at “The Bird’s Nest” for the opening ceremony although organizers announced that 150,000 spectators will be invited to attend the events in two of the three clusters of venues in Beijing and Zhangjiakou. The alpine skiing and sliding sports in Yanqing will be held without fans.
Plans to sell tickets to international visitors were also scrapped because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Three-time Academy Award nominee Zhang Yimou is again directing the opening and closing ceremonies of these Winter Olympics as he did in the 2008 Summer Games. He withheld information on the show but said the entire ceremony will be “simple, safe and splendid.”
At least 3,000 performers, most of which are teenagers are participating in the opening ceremony.
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