Swiss-Filipino curler Marc Pfister once had to step away from the ice to undergo chemotherapy. Now, he’s leading a historic project: helping the Philippines qualify for the Winter Olympic Games for the first time, aiming for Milano-Cortina 2026.

His story, marked by illness and resilience, intertwines with that of a group of compatriots who, since 2023, have chosen to represent the island nation in a sport few Filipinos had ever seen played. “Qualifying for the Olympic Games is our big goal, our big dream,” says Pfister.

From a WhatsApp joke to a national team

It all began almost as a joke. Pfister, his brother Enrico Pfister, and Christian Haller, shared a WhatsApp group named ‘Team Philippines’. “It was more of a joke than anything serious,” recalls Pfister with a laugh. But the idea started to take shape when Alan Frei, a retired entrepreneur on a personal fitness mission he called “From Obese to the Olympics,” joined the group. “We said, ‘Why not? We need one more,’” Pfister remembers. Not long after, the four of them formed the first-ever Filipino men’s curling team, with Frei as lead and Pfister as skip.

Their rise has been nothing short of remarkable. In 2023, just months after coming together, the team received a last-minute invitation to compete in the Pan Continental Championships B-Division following the withdrawal of Kazakhstan. Against all odds, they finished second.

A year later, in 2024, they returned to win the tournament, earning promotion to the A-Division and with it a ticket to the Pre-Olympic Qualifying Event 2025, taking place this week in Curl Aberdeen, Scotland. The top three teams there will advance to the final Olympic qualification event in Kelowna, Canada, where only two nations will secure the last remaining spots for Milano-Cortina 2026.

Their success didn’t stop there. At the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, People’s Republic of China, the Filipino team shocked the curling world by defeating traditional powerhouses such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the host nation to claim the gold medal. “There’s a lot of support, but also a lot of people asking, ‘What is curling?’” Pfister admits. “We have to show them — it’s not that easy to explain.”

The personal battle with cancer

For Pfister, every stone he slides across the ice carries a deeper meaning. His career was interrupted when he was diagnosed with cancer while representing Switzerland. “I had to stop for six months because of surgery and chemo,” he explains. “I even played a qualifying event without hair, really sick, and we just missed out.”

The illness made him consider walking away from the sport. “There was a moment I thought about stopping because the Olympic dream was over,” he confides. But the support of those around him helped him find strength again. His brother and teammates shaved their heads in solidarity. “Most of the people around me are curlers,” he says with a grin. “So, I had to go back on the ice.”

Today, Marc and Enrico Pfister, Christian Haller, Alan Frei, and alternate Brayden Carpenter are preparing to face teams with more resources, but their determination remains unshaken. Training sessions are no longer daily as they were in Switzerland, but rather on weekends and evenings — yet the goal hasn’t changed. We’re working hard, and we really want to make it happen. It would be a big dream,” Pfister says, aware that just competing for an Olympic berth is already a milestone achievement for the Philippines.