Winter Olympics

Asa Miller wraps up Winter Olympics stint with repeat DNF

Delfin Dioquino

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Asa Miller wraps up Winter Olympics stint with repeat DNF

NO FINISH. Asa Miller slips in the men's slalom just 35 seconds into his opening run.

Denis Balibouse/Reuters

(2nd UPDATE) Filipino-American skier Asa Miller fails to complete his run in the men's slalom as he suffers the same fate as in the giant slalom

MANILA, Philippines – No redemption for Asa Miller.

The Filipino-American skier ended his Beijing Winter Olympics campaign in disappointment after submitting a DNF (did not finish) in the men’s slalom on Wednesday, February 16.

Miller suffered the same fate as in his men’s giant slalom stint, where he also registered a DNF, as he slipped 35 seconds into his opening run.

He initially averted an early disaster by getting back on track at the 20-second mark, but he eventually skied out after his foot got entangled with a pole.

“I have a fault also,” Miller admitted as he and 33 others failed to advance to the second run.

American coach Will Gregorak, who mentors Miller, said it was unfortunate to see his ward unable to get the feeling on the snow and the skis.

“You hoped that it wouldn’t happen in the Olympics, but that’s ski racing and that’s the nature of the sport and that’s slalom racing,” Gregorak said.

France’s Clement Noel captured gold following a brilliant second-run performance that saw him clock in a total time of 1:44.09, just .61 seconds ahead of erstwhile leader Johannes Strolz of Austria.

Noel, who placed sixth after Run 1 with a time of 54.30, stole the show after topping the second run with 49.79.

On the other hand, Strolz ruled the opening run (53.92) but faltered when it mattered most as he finished 13th in the second run after recording 50.78 to settle for silver.

“That was one of the most important races in my career,” Noel said. “It’s not often that you are able to win a medal in the Olympic Games. It’s one shot – one minute and 40 seconds every four years.”

“I knew that I was in shape. My races in January were not good but training here was really good, I was fast. This is the best I can do. I have no words to describe it.”

Norway’s Sebastian Foss-Solevaag pocketed bronze with 1:44.79.

Despite a repeat DNF from Miller, Philippine Ski and Snowboard Federation president Jim Apelar said he remains proud of the 21-year-old for representing the country as the Philippines’ lone bet in Beijing.

“It’s disappointing, but that’s part of the game and there’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Apelar said. 

“We are here for a couple of things: competition and representation. So we can see positive things. We were able to raise positive things by raising our flag in the Olympics.”

Of the 88 skiers on the starting list, 45 completed two runs, 40 did not finish, 2 did not start, and 2 got disqualified. – with a report from Reuters/Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!
Person, Human, Clothing

author

Delfin Dioquino

Delfin Dioquino dreamt of being a PBA player, but he did not have the skills to make it. So he pursued the next best thing to being an athlete – to write about them. He took up journalism at the University of Santo Tomas and joined Rappler as soon as he graduated in 2017.