At just 17, Tallulah Proulx becomes the first Filipina to compete in the Winter Olympics, qualifying for Milano Cortina 2026 in alpine skiing and expanding what’s possible for Philippine sports.
The Philippines is the last place you’d expect to have Winter Olympians representing it. After all, the country has no snow, no naturally formed ice, no frosty terrain outside our imagination. And yet, at the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026, the Philippine flag was raised and proudly waved by two young Filipino Winter Olympians. Among them is Tallulah Proulx, who makes history as the first Filipina to represent the country at the Winter Olympics.
To put it into perspective, only six Filipino athletes have represented the country in the Winter Olympics since it began participating in 1972 (excluding this year), all men prior to Proulx. These include alpine skiers Juan Cipriano and Ben Nanasca (1972 Sapporo), Michael Teruel (1992 Albertville), and Asa Miller (2018 Pyeongchang and 2022 Beijing); luge athlete Raymond Ocampo (1988 Calgary); and figure skater Michael Christian Martinez (2014 Sochi and 2018 PyeongChang). The seventh is Francis Ceccarelli, who competes alongside Proulx at this year’s Milano Cortina Games.
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Getting To Know Tallulah
Proulx is a 17-year-old Filipino alpine skier born in the United States. She began skiing at just three years old, strapping on her first pair of skis during a family trip to Tahoe, California. What started as a childhood experience soon became a calling. By the age of seven, she was already competing in events; it was there, on the slopes, that her Olympic dream took shape.
Fresh out of high school, Proulx is making history, not only as the first Filipina to compete for the Philippines in the Winter Olympics, but also as the youngest athlete ever to represent the country on the world’s biggest winter stage.
Proulx secured her place in the Winter Olympics after meeting the International Ski and Snowboarding Federation’s (FIS) qualification standard. She earned starts in both the women’s giant slalom and slalom events by reaching the required 120 FIS points. She initially fell just short of qualifying in slalom, missing the mark by a razor-thin margin. But on the final day of the qualification window, five crucial runs pushed her average down to 119.72 points, which was just enough to clinch her spot and officially book her a ticket to Milano Cortina 2026.
In an interview with ABS-CBN, Proulx says, “I’m just really happy, and I hope I can be a role model to other young Filipina girls and Filipinas in general.”
All photos via Instagram @tallulah_proulx.
