Fil-Am skater Christopher Caluza now competing for PHL

Filipino-American figure skater Christopher Caluza, who used to compete for the United States, has recently been making his mark in the international skating world, this time opting to carry the name of the Philippines. Caluza, who was born to Filipino parents residing in San Diego, California, had placed 19th during last year's US Nationals. According to the 21-year-old skater's Facebook profile, he had also placed eighth in the junior division of the 2010 US Nationals. However, Caluza said in an article posted on Fox San Diego that he had promised himself that once he makes it to the US senior nationals, he would begin competing for the Philippines. “I’ve always wanted to do it since I was 16. I was inspired by Manny Pacquiao and how he brings glory to the Philippines and the Filipino community, and thought that it would be awesome to represent my parents’ country and bring something to our family name,” he said in another article posted on the Asian Journal. Because of this, Caluza went back to the Philippines last November to compete in the 2011 Philippine National Figure Skating Competition, where he placed first in the senior men's division and earned the right to represent the country in international tilts. Last February, he placed third out of 14 figure skaters while representing the country in the 2012 Bavarian Open.  In the same month, he placed 12th out of 28 skaters in the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships held in Colorado Springs. Just recently, he was the country's representative in the 2012 World Figure Skating Championships in Nice, France. In the competition, he placed eighth out of 27 skaters in the preliminary round and 21st out of 30 skaters in the final round. "This is indeed the highest placement a Filipino Figure Skating athlete had ever made at the World stage.  I definitely see Sochi (2014 Winter Olympics) for Christopher and the Philippines,” Caluza's manager Tim David told the Asian Journal in the same article. - VVP, GMA News