Meet the American Skiing Girl in Philippine Winter Olympics History

Last month in Northern California, 17-year-old American alpine skier Tallulah Proulx burst through the final gates of her final slalom qualification and glided to the finish line. Afterwards, she and her mother sat in their car, suspended between hope and anguish in the thin mountain air, not yet knowing if their runs would be enough to take her to the finish line. Winter Olympics 2026 in northern Italy.

It was the last day of grading.

“My mom and I weren’t sure until we got in the car and were about to leave,” Proulx told News themezone.

The exciting news came moments later: Proulx had qualified, by a narrow margin, not only to compete in the Milan Cortina Games, but also to make history: she is the first woman from the Philippines to compete in a Winter Olympics, and also the country’s youngest Winter Olympian.

“I was so happy, so excited, and it didn’t seem real,” she said, adding that her mother had a gift ready for potentially bad news. “My mom had bought me a cookie and the funny thing is that we were saying it was a celebration cookie, and not a comfort cookie. We were driving home and we were celebrating.”

All the nerves that had dragged her down the mountain dissolved into laughter, and that last finale in California became her exit door for Cortina.

“I definitely feel some pressure,” he said. “This is my first big international competition with this incredibly high level of athletes. But the outcome, depending on the outcome, I’ll keep a positive mindset and have fun and be here for the experience. And I’m very excited to show the Philippines and show the world what the Philippines can do.”

Every Olympic athlete’s story begins in a place much smaller than a full stadium. For Proulx, it all started near the snow, at the height of small children. He was only three years old when he put on his first pair of skis.

Growing up in Berkeley, California, Proulx’s parents made the three-hour pilgrimage to Lake Tahoe to spend family weekends in the mountains with her and her brother. However, the pace of those first turns slowed at age seven, when his mother’s job took the family to Iowa.

“Iowa is very flat,” he laughed. “There’s a little hill called Sundown Mountain. Shout out Sundown! And they only had one racing team.”

The mountain, however, continued to call. When she was 10, her parents enrolled her in a full-time, six-day-a-week ski program in Vail, Colorado. A year later, in 2018, he moved again, this time to Park City, Utah, to continue chasing speed, snow, and seconds.

“My family was incredibly supportive of my journey from the beginning. They were the ones who sent me to Vail to follow my passion, even though it wasn’t necessarily for everyone,” Proulx said. “It was a little difficult for the family, so they ended up moving to Park City, but they were the ones who believed in me and believed in my dream.”

Choosing the final stretch of Proulx’s path to achieving his Olympic dream came down to both strategy and realism. She and her family had to decide whether they should try to represent Team USA or Team Philippines.

“We were definitely, first of all, thinking about the best and easiest way,” he told News themezone. “There are a lot fewer athletes competing for the Philippines than for the United States. For the United States, it would probably take… I would probably have to take a year off, work my way up.” [to] the U.S. Ski Team, and only a few of them are here at the Olympics.”

So the family decided on Proulx, a dual national, who competed under the banner of his Filipino heritage.

“I definitely wouldn’t be where I am now if I was under the American flag,” he admitted.

At the opening ceremony in Cortina on February 6, Proulx brought that decision to the bright lights, walking towards the Olympic stadium under the sun and the red, white and blue (and yellow) stars of the Republic of the Philippines, as the country’s flag bearer.

Now he hopes that the footprints he leaves will become someone else’s trail.

“I would say if you are passionate and you are surrounded by the right people who support you and you have that passion in your heart and also kindness towards others, I think you can pursue whatever you want,” he urged young fans and aspiring athletes to follow his journey.

To the young Filipinos and Filipinos watching, in particular, he offered pride as fuel for their own rises.

“You know, I think Filipinos are one of the most supportive people,” he said. “I just want to tell all the Filipinos who are watching that we are so strong that we can do it… to be proud of our identity, and I think it is very important that it is here for the Winter Olympics, as a first step.”