BORMIO, Italy – Francis Ceccarelli will say goodbye to the 25th Winter Olympics with the hope of being a better, stronger and faster skier.

The 22-year-old, based In Abetone, Tuscany with his Italian parents, saw action in alpine skiing’s giant slalom and slalom events the past week.

He was 54th among 81 entries in the giant slalom and did not advance to the second run of the slalom, where only 39 of 96 skiers survived the brutal test.

But Ceccarelli didn’t really complain about the dangerous and slippery slopes of the Stelvio Ski Centre, with close to zero visibility under heavy snow. He said it's part of the game.

“It’s okay. Slalom is very difficult,” he said of the event offering tight turns and closely spaced gates (flags) all the way down to the finish at a maximum speed of 70 kph.

Instead, he said he will find ways to get better.

“Never stop,” he said hours after Monday’s slalom competition where even the gold medalist in the giant slalom, Lucas Pinheiro of Brazil, did not finish the race.

“Just never stop. Every day you can get really better. You can upgrade every day. And so, yeah, the next time, for the races, be better,” added Ceccarelli.

Tallulah Proulx, 17, the first Filipina to vie in the Winter Olympics, was competing in the women’s slalom event in Cortina as of press time. She finished 52nd out of 76 participants in the giant slalom.

With 80 of the 116 events done, Norway was up in the medal standings with 14-8-9 (gold, silver, bronze) followed by host Italy (9-4-11), the United States (6-10-5), the Netherlands (6-6-1) and Germany (5-8-7).

After the Winter Games come to a close on Sunday, Ceccarelli will have little time to rest because there’s another competition on tap in Turkey.

The skier who was born in Quezon City did not look too far ahead like the 2029 Asian Winter Games in Kazakhstan or the 2030 Winter Olympics in France.

But he promised to work harder.

“Just push yourself harder – every day and every moment,” said Ceccarelli, who thanked the Philippine Ski and Snowboard Federation under Jemuel Apelar, the Philippine Olympic Committee headed by Abraham Tolentino and the Philippine Sports Commission, the funding arm, under Patrick Gregorio.

“I’m happy with my work here. Representing the Philippines for me for the first time (Olympics) is my honor. For my people, for my family, for the (team) members,” he said.

Ceccarelli, by his Filipino traits, was apologetic after missing out in the slalom event.

“Sorry,” he said.