Filipino-American and U.S. Olympic short track speed skater J.R. Celski, 19, was disqualified in a physical and contentious race today at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games being held in Vancouver, Canada.

In his bench, Celski attempted to contain his disappointment after the ruling was issued and took off his shirt. He appeared, however, to be visibly emotional.

J.R. Celski sported a “three stars and a sun” Philippine flag-referenced tattoo on his chest, as shown on NBC and affiliate television networks this evening.

In the final lap, Celski was just about tied for second place and poised to reach the medal event finals for the Men’s 1500m in short track speed skating.

Francois Hamelin of Canada, bumped Celski from behind which caused a split-second reaction from the Filipino American and Federal Way, Washington native.

Television replays also appeared to show that the Canadian briefly held Celski which caused him to lose his position in the race.

After the steep turn, Celski fell out of position and the rest of the speed skaters advanced to the medal event finale. It was the final lap and simply too late to catch up.

Judges ruled that Celski knocked the Canadian Hamelin to the ground, which earned the former a disqualification. Additionally, it was ruled that Celski was not in qualifying position when the bump took place, albeit he was milli-seconds away from such a qualifying position (second place).

Each of the other three skaters advanced to the final.

J.R. Celski continues to possess a promising future in Olympic speed skating and will be 23 years old when when the 2014 Winter Games are held in Sochi, Russia.