Training goes smooth for Asa on 5th day

YANQING, China – Asa Miller completed another full routine of training on Sunday—his fifth since arriving here a week ago—and believed he had adjusted to the Chinese snow.“Today’s training was good,” said the 21-year-old Miller, now on his second consecutive Winter Games but is competing by his lonesome this time unlike in Pyeongchang four years ago when he was with figure skater Michael Martinez.Stockier this time in his 5-foot-8 frame, the demands of alpine skiing takes toll on all athletes—and Miller’s no exception.“No soreness and less pain this time,” said Miller whose dad Kelly constantly monitored his routine at the National Alpine Skiing Centre on Xiaohaituo Mountain.“His fifth day [training] was good. He had a few good training runs,” said Kelly Miller after father and son descended from the glacier.Beijing’s challenged by the lack of snow especially in the alpine skiing venue and organizers had to pump snow from snowmaking equipment. A wires story described the process as spraying atomized water into the air along with mechanically created nucleators—tiny ice crystals—that act as seeds for the manufactured snowflakes.The Portland-based Asa Miller will compete in the men’s giant slalom starting at 10 a.m. on Feb. 13 and will return three days later for the slalom also at 10 a.m.Miller took the day’s off last Friday to rest his muscles and attend the opening ceremony in Beijing. But while at the Olympic Village here, he still conditions his muscles in the gym.“I still train at the village, focusing mostly on my legs, core strength and stability,” said Miller, whose training, preparation and participation in Beijing are fully supported by the Philippine Sports Commission headed by chairman William “Butch” Ramirez.Organizers moved the men’s training on Sunday to the afternoon session to give priority to the women athletes whose event comes on Monday.Thus, Sunday morning was sort of a rest day for the Economics major at Westminster College in Salt Lake City and chilled off by listening to his favorite pop alternative music.Another challenge for the organizers were the winds that got stronger on a different course over the weekend, forcing them to move the men’s downhill competition to another day.But Kelly Miller said their side of the mountain were not affected by the wind.“It’s not windy where we are,” he said. (PR)