FREI YEARNS TO BRING MORE PRIDE TO PHILIPPINES

THERE's no such thing as too late in pursuing one's dreams.

Alan Frei, one of the four Filipino foreign curlers who made a historic mark in the 9th Asian Winter Games after scoring a huge upset against South Korea, 5-3, last Friday in Harbin, China, shared that curling for him started as a hobby.

The 42-year-old champion never thought to be an athlete as he settled for a safe, ordinary life as a businessman.

However, one moment changed his life.

When the doctor told him that his health was declining and he needed to be healthy, Frei thought that he should engage more in sports.

But Frei has a different way of viewing things, when he tried the curling sport for the first time, the first thing that came to his mind was: How will I make it to the Olympics?

His drive in life has always been there.

"I was very overweight, the doctor told me that I was very unhealthy and I said 'Okay, I need to change that now.' So my idea was born, I want to be very fit to the point that I can go to the Olympics. How can I do that?" Frei said.

"My mother is a Filipina (Cebuana), I know that I have a small chance of making it to the Winter Olympics for the Philippines. I started skiing but I have zero talent, then I suddenly had the email from these guys (Curling Pilipinas). And you know what? Let's try that, let's try curling," he added.

Having an Olympic dream in his heart, this can all be possible as Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino said he would endorse the quartet of Filipino curlers in the International Olympic Committee.

This would allow them to have an Olympic Solidarity scholarship that can give them the advantage of training anywhere in the world for free.

If the IOC approves Tolentino's request, Frei, Marc Pfister, Christian Haller, and Gab Pfister can represent the Philippines in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.

But the quad still has to join the Pre-Olympic Qualifying event from Oct. 17 to 24, and the Olympic Qualification event from Dec. 6 to 13.

Frei has only two years of experience in curling.

"I never curled in my life before, I never wanted to be a sport. But now ... I am here."

Based in Switzerland, he sold his e-commerce business to focus on curling and representing the Philippines.

"I have a lot of family in the Philippines, and I am a very proud Filipino. If you're living in the Philippines you don't know how many Filipinos are so proud of the Philippines. The whole culture is there, the food, the music, and the culture."

Aside from the achievement of earning gold, for Frei one of his greatest feats is to introduce a different sport in the Philippines.

2025-02-17T16:21:31Z