Gangwon, South Korea—Peter Groseclose plunges into action in the Fourth Winter Youth Olympic Games on Saturday morning at the 12,000-seat Gangneung Ice Arena.
Groseclose knows the 1,500 meters of short track of speedskating is his weakest event, but stressed he’ll go for it no matter what.
“To be honest, it is my weakest distance, but I’m not bad at it, I’m more of a sprinter and this is more of an endurance race,” said the 16-year-old Washington DC-based Groseclose on Friday.
“But I will do my best and I can be competitive,” added Groseclose, who had to skip Friday’s opening ceremony so as not to tire himself for the first of his three events in these games.
The games opened simultaneously at the Gangneung Oval and Pyeongchang Dome on Friday with freestyle skier Laetaz Amihan Rabe as the lone flag-bearer during the parade of athletes.
Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and secretary-general Atty. Wharton Chan and chef de mission Ada Milby attended the opening ceremony.
Groseclose is coached in the US by Simon Cho, but is being handled here by John-Henry Krueger, who clinched a speed skating silver for the US at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics.
“Short track is very unpredictable. So as a coach, I want him to focus on every race just one at a time and not thinking too far down the road,” said Krueger, who also shared the mixed team bronze medal as a naturalized athlete for Hungary in Beijing two years ago.
“If that’s a good race, that’s great. If that’s bad, we have to focus on the next,” he said. “There’s no point looking far down the road as the field is too competitive.”
Groseclose vies against athletes from 33 other nations with Jaehee Joo and Yousung Kim of host South Korea favored to top the podium.
“The general consensus is [host] South Korea is the most powerful team in the World Cup junior competitions, but I’m really glad and ready to compete against them so let’s see,” Groseclose said.
“These Youth Olympics happen once in a lifetime, they happen every four years and I’m glad to have this opportunity to get an experience and be part of this event,” said Groseclose, who will also see action in the 1000m on Sunday and 500m on Monday.
The third athlete on Team Philippines, Avery Balbanida, is arriving here on January 25 ahead of the crosscountry skiing events on January 29 and 30.