Philippine alpine skier Francis Ceccarelli will make his Winter Olympics debut in the giant slalom event of 2026 Milano Cortina this afternoon.
Filipino-Italian alpine skier Francis Ceccarelli begins the campaign of Team Philippines at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games as he competes in giant slalom this Saturday, February 14.
The 22-year-old, who was born in Quezon City before he was adopted by Italian parents and moved abroad when he was eight, is making his Olympics debut after changing his nationality in May 2023.
He is 67th in an 81-strong field, which features Beijing 2022 gold medalist and points leader Marco Odermatt of Switzerland, silver medalist Zan Kranjec of Slovenia, and reigning world champion Raphael Haaser of Austria.
Giant slalom is a race with an average distance of 20-30 meters between the curves, and takes about one to one and a half minutes to complete. The track has wider curves compared to the special slalom, and the gates are used to mark the course instead of poles.
In the Stelvio Ski Center, there are 52 turning gates out of 56 in a 1,448m course.
Skiers get two runs, and the shortest combined time wins.
Ceccarelli's best finish recently in giant slalom was during the FIS CUP Jahorina 2026 in Bosnia and Herzegovina last month. He finished 12th with a total time of 2:05.69.
Run 1 will start at 5:00 pm, Philippine time. Run 2 will be at 8:30 pm, Philippine time.
Daily highlights will be available on One Sports, One Sports+, and the Pilipinas Live app.
[ALSO READ: Francis Ceccarelli, Tallulah Proulx represent Philippines at 2026 Winter Olympics]
Katrina Alba is a sports journalist and producer, notably with SportsCenter Philippines before taking on her current role at One Sports.
She primarily writes about basketball and volleyball, with experience covering the SEA Games, Para Games, Asian Games, FIBA World Cup, and FIVB World Cup.
Outside of work, her hobbies include running, swimming, pickleball, yoga, arnis, and krav maga.