Quezon city: Filipino-Italian Francis Ceccarelli is gearing up for his debut at the Winter Olympic Games next year. He is the first Filipino to qualify for the event, which will be jointly hosted by Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy from February 6 to 22, 2026. "I'm feeling good, and really proud of myself and for the people who support me. I'm really excited and ready for this Olympics season," the 22-year-old Alpine skier expressed during an online interview on Sunday.
According to Philippines News Agency, Ceccarelli was born in Quezon City but was adopted by an Italian couple, moving to Italy at the age of eight. He currently resides in Abetone, a town in the province of Pistoia in Tuscany. He explained his choice of sport, saying, "I chose skiing because my mom's family are skiers and because in Abetone, the principal sport is the ski. The first one who encouraged me to ski was my mom at ski school camp. After that, I thought that ski was really fun and with the passage of time, I decided to do skiing. I had many coaches . my first coach was my mom and now, my coach is Stefano."
Ceccarelli is currently undergoing training in Chile, focusing on high-altitude practice runs. He attributed his qualification for the Winter Olympics to consistent participation in races and rigorous training, stating, "I qualified for the Winter Olympics because I made many races and many trainings before. Also because I started skiing before I knew the Italian language, really . I think the secret for all these is constancy and continuity."
His international experience includes participating in various races, such as those organized by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), where he achieved favorable results in the slalom discipline. He also competed in the Asian Winter Games, reflecting on the experience, "I had a great opportunity to be on the podium but when you want to go further, it happens that you make mistakes."
Ceccarelli began representing the Philippines in 2023 and has always felt a strong connection to his roots. "Since I started skiing, my Filipino identity has always been with me. It represents where I was born and where I'm from. It was a goal for me to ski for the Philippines, because it is not every day that we have a Filipino athlete skiing at the international level," he shared in a previous interview with the Olympics.com website.
