The Philippines, a tropical nation with no natural winter sports infrastructure, marked a milestone in ice sports as Filipina bobsledders Rhea Joy Sumalpong and Shirley Salamagos made their debut in the IBSF North American Cup at the Lake Placid Olympic Sports Complex in New York.
Sumalpong placed sixth in the women’s monobob event, clocking a combined time of 2 minutes and 19.01 seconds over two runs, holding her own against a seasoned international field.
Salamagos, meanwhile, recorded 1:09.12 in the first heat to rank seventh but did not start in the second heat and was officially listed as DNS (Did Not Start).
Despite limited experience, the Filipino pair — both serving as apprentice seawomen in the Philippine Coast Guard — showed encouraging form on one of the sport’s most technically demanding tracks. They only began training in late 2024 but quickly made an impact, capturing a silver medal in the two-woman event at the Korea Cup.
Their performance in Lake Placid, widely regarded as a proving ground for elite sliders, signals a promising start for the country’s fledgling bobsled program as it builds toward long-term goals, including potential participation in future Winter Olympics.
Chinese Taipei’s Lin Sin-Rong won the gold medal with a combined time of 2:01.52, followed by Latvia’s Amēlija Kotāne (2:03.33) and South Korea’s Jeon Eun-ji (2:04.75), who took silver and bronze, respectively.
