STONES, COLD, DETERMINATION

Just over two years since the Philippines men's curling team was formed, it is preparing for a final push to realize a dream of qualifying for next year's Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.

Belief is high as the rink, comprising brothers Marc and Enrico Pfister, Christian Haller, Brayden Carpenter and Alan Frei, sit on the verge of becoming the first team from the tropical Southeast Asian country to compete at the Winter Games in any sport.

After winning gold at the Asian Winter Games in China earlier this year, it swept through a pre-Olympic qualification event this month to earn a spot in the final qualifier.

"We're one tournament away from the Olympics, which is mind-boggling," Frei told reporters.

"We became Asian Winter champions against teams like South Korea, Japan and China. This is absolutely crazy. Nobody would have expected it. It's been a wild ride."

The path will only get tougher from here.

The Dec 5-18 Olympic qualifier in Canada will feature the United States, as well as a renewal of the Philippines' acquaintances with Asian winter sports powerhouses China, Japan and South Korea.

"We have nothing to lose. We're playing against top teams," Frei added. "There will be a gold medalist there, (John) Shuster. He's an American. They won gold in 2018. The Chinese were fourth at the world championships. Japan and Korea are really good. We're the underdogs."

The Philippines team is based in Switzerland, with the Pfister brothers, Haller and Frei all being Swiss-born and half-Filipino. Carpenter, brought on board in July, is Filipino-Canadian.

'I am going to the Games'

While the others had all competed professionally at various levels before, Frei was a complete curling novice.

His Olympic journey began in 2022 after selling his e-commerce company Amorana — a Swiss online shop.

"I had a lot of time and money, but I was very unhealthy. I went for a routine check-up and the doctor told me: 'You're on a really bad path'," the 43-year-old said.

"I decided to change my life. I was about 20-25 kilograms heavier. I told my girlfriend at the time: 'I am going to the Olympics'. I don't know how, I don't know when. Olympians are super fit."

Once it became clear he would never make it to the Olympics as part of a Swiss contingent, Frei set his sights on representing his mother's country, the Philippines, in cross-country skiing.

"I had zero talent for skiing! I always fell. I was always laying in the snow," he said.

Frei began documenting his story online, which caught the attention of Haller, a twice world junior curling championships medalist with Switzerland.

Haller and the Pfisters had long been part of a WhatsApp group jokingly titled 'Team Philippines', but without the fourth member they needed to make a curling team it never went any further than that. Until Frei came along.

"Our small miracle started in March 2023 when I got an email from Christian," Frei said.

"I said: 'Screw cross-country skiing!' I told them: 'Don't worry about anything. I'll take care of the financials and do the admin. I will learn to curl'."

Turning a dream into a goal

Frei's inexperience was a significant challenge, but there were plenty of other hurdles.

A Filipino curling federation had to be established, which required the approval of the Philippine Olympic Committee. The Swiss-born curlers also needed Filipino passports.

Barring Frei, the other members had full-time jobs, limiting their ability to train together, while Marc Pfister was in the midst of a hiatus as he underwent chemotherapy.

The odds were stacked against them.

"The difference between a dream and a goal is the plan," Frei said.

"This big mountain of going to the Olympics, you break it into steps, like getting the passports, speaking to World Curling, learning to curl, having the first tournament and training, then it's a goal. It's not a dream anymore."

Frei hopes the team's exploits can inspire more Filipinos to take to the ice.

"Curling is a precision sport and Filipinos are really good at them. We're great at pool and darts," he added.

"Hopefully, further down the road, there will be a facility in the Philippines and we can get homegrown Filipinos curling. That would be amazing."

Reuters