More exposure for Filipina bobsled duo in first North American Cup stint

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine women’s bobsled team bannered by pilot Rhea Joy Sumalpong and brakesman Shirley Salamagos aim for valuable experience and exposure as they see action in the North American Cup set from March 26 to 27 in Lake Placid, New York, United States, for the first time.

Sumalpong of Tangub City, Misamis Occidental, and Salamagos of Itbayat, Batanes, have been training at the Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex and will take part in the International Bobsleigh Skeleton Federation (IBSF) Development Camp scheduled from March 16 to 21 before they compete in the two-woman bobsleigh event of the North American Cup. 

Their participation in the North American Cup comes a year after Sumalpong and Salamagos bagged silver in the Korea Cup Bobsled Championship.

Sumalpong and Salamagos, who are both active duty personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard, also had training stints at the Olympic Sliding Center in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2024 and 2025. 

“This is a very historic occasion for Philippine bobsled,” said Philippine National Bobsled Luge and Skeleton Association president and founder Thelmo Cunanan Jr. 

“We started the PNBLSA in 2017 and joined IBSF in 2020. Since 2017, we have trained and competed in Austria, Canada, and South Korea. But this is the first time our athletes are joining the IBSF Development Camp for Emerging Nations and the first time we are competing in an IBSF North American Cup race.” 

Sumalpong and Salamagos are accompanied by team captain Heins Arlegui and coach Jeffrey dela Cruz in the United States. – Rappler.com