Julian Macaraeg falls short in World Short Track Speed Skating championships

Julian Macaraeg fell short on the first day of the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships held in Dordrecht, Netherlands, on Friday.

In the first event, Macaraeg placed last during the heats in the 1500-m quarterfinals, where he clocked in 2:24.939 minutes, around two seconds behind Dutch athletes Itzhak De Laat (2:22.087) and Sjinkie Knegt (2:22.350), and Latvia’s Reinis Berzins (2:22.510) who qualified for the semis.

The 17-year-old Filipino had a bright spot in the men’s 500-m heats, where he led in the first lap. However, De Laat (41.125 seconds) powered through anew and bagged a slot for the next round, alongside Israel’s Vladislav Bykanov (41.383) and German Adrian Luedtke (41.475). Macaraeg finished last in their group with 55.305 seconds.

Macaraeg also fell short in the 1000-m heats after slipping near the end of the race, and clocked in 1:49.054 minutes. Belgium’s Stjin Desmet (1:30.608) and Italy’s Yuri Confortola (1:30.838) will advance to the next round from their group.

Macaraeg will still compete in the next round of heats to determine his final standings in the tournament.

Macaraeg is the first Filipino to qualify in the speed skating championships.

Prior to this, the 17-year-old became the first Filipino to compete in the Winter Youth Olympics short track speed skating event. – RC, GMA News