Ben Nanasca is a Filipino alpine skier who represented the Philippines at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 29, 1954 Philippines |
| Occupation | Alpine skier ♂ |
| Skiing career | |
| Disciplines | Slalom, giant slalom |
| Olympics | |
| Teams | 1 – (1972) |
Early life edit
Ben Nanasca was born on December 29, 1954[1] in the Philippines. He has six siblings.[2] Nanasca along with his cousin Juan Cipriano were adopted by New Zealanders.[3] His family had to put him for adoption due to hardships they experienced in the Philippines and left the country in 1968 after he and his cousin were adopted.[2]
Nanasca, his cousin and their adopted family resided in Andorra where the cousins skied in the Pyrenees. They later resided in Spain, France and Switzerland.[2]
Career edit
Nanasca and Cipriano were scouted by the Swiss government and became part of an alpine skiing development group. The government sponsored their training. The two later qualified to compete at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan for the Philippines.[2] They became the first Filipino Winter Olympians. Nanasca finished 42nd among 48 finishers in the giant slalom event with the time of 4:06.20. He did not finish in the slalom event.[4]
Post-Olympic edit
After the Olympics, Nanasca returned to the Philippines and shortly resided there before emigrating to New Zealand at age 18. He competed in local alpine skiing races there and was part of the New Zealand team. He also worked as a teacher for a year before starting to work with Youthtown in 1985 where he organizes outdoor camps.[2]
Personal life edit
Ben Nanasca is married to Florengel, a Filipino from Dumaguete, with whom he has two daughters; Karen and Alana.[5] Both daughters are ballerinas.[2] Karen is a member of the Melbourne-based Australian Ballet.[6]
References edit
- ^ "Ben Nanasca". Olympics. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f Healy, Catherine (16 August 2012). "Olympian part of Youthtown history". stuff. Fairfax New Zealand Limited. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ Goldblatt, David (26 July 2016). The Games: A Global History of the Olympics (illustrated ed.). W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0393254112. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ Henson, Joaquin (12 February 2010). "Pinoys in Winter Games". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ "First-ever PH Winter Olympian hopes Asa Miller breaks 50-year-old record". Tiebreaker Times. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
- ^ Tatman, Christian (8 July 2016). "Karen Nanasca performs in Giselle at Frankston Arts Centre". Frankston Standard Leader. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
