Meet the American girl skiing her way into Winter Olympics history in the Philippines

Last month in northern California, 17-year-old American alpine skier Tallulah Proulx clipped the final gates of her final slalom qualifier and skied to the finish. He and his mother sat in their car after that, standing between hope and sorrow in the thin mountain air, not knowing if his run would be enough to get him to the destination. 2026 Winter Olympics in northern Italy.

It was the last day of graduation.

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

The exciting news came a little later: Proulx succeeded, on a small scale, not only to compete in the Milano Cortina Games, but to make history: She is the first Filipino woman to compete in the Winter Olympics, and the country’s youngest Winter Olympian.

“I was happy, very happy, and I didn’t feel real,” he said, adding that his mother had a dish ready for possible bad news. “My mom got me a cookie and the funny thing was we said it was a celebration cookie – not a comfort cookie. We were just driving home and celebrating.”

Any emotion that had followed him down the mountain melted into laughter, and that California finish was his first gateway to Cortina.

“I definitely feel the pressure,” she said. “This is my biggest competition, first, like, international with this crazy high level of athletes. But the result, like, depending on what the result might be, I’ll just keep a positive attitude and just be happy and be here to get the experience. And I’m very happy to show the Philippines and show the world what the Philippines can do.”

Every Olympian’s story begins on a much smaller scale than a packed field. For Proulx, it started near the snow — at the height of a small child. He was just three years old when he clicked on his first pair of skis.

Growing up in Berkeley, California, Proulx’s parents would make the three-hour drive to Lake Tahoe for family mountain weekends with him and his brother. The rhythm of those early days faded when he was seven, however, when his mother’s job took the family to Iowa.

“Iowa is pretty low,” he laughed. “There’s one hill called Sundown Mountain. Shout out to Sundown! And they only had a race team.”

However, the mountain kept calling. When he was 10, his parents enrolled him in a full-time, six-day-a-week program in Vail, Colorado. A year later, in 2018, he moved again, this time to Park City, Utah, to continue his pursuit of speed, snow, and seconds.

“My family has been incredibly supportive of my journey from the beginning. They were the ones who loved it, they sent me to Vail to pursue my passion, even though it wasn’t for everyone,” Proulx said. “It was 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 leg of Proulx’s path to achieving his Olympic dream came down to both strategy and practicality. He and his family had to decide whether he should try to represent Team America, or Team Philippines.

“First, we were thinking about the best and easiest way,” he told CBS News. “There are a lot less athletes competing in the Philippines than in the US. In the US, it might take – maybe I’ll have to take a gap year, work your way up. [to] The US Ski Team — and like a few of them are here at the Olympics.”

So the family settled in Proulx, a dual country, competing under the flag 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 Feb. 6, Proulx put that decision in a bright light, entering the Olympic arena under the red, white and blue sun – and the yellow sun and stars – of the Republic of the Philippines, as the bearer of the national flag.

Now he hopes the tracks he left behind will be someone else’s clue to the future.

“I would say if you have love and you are surrounded by the right people who support you and you have that love in your heart and you are kind to others, I think you can do anything you want,” he urged any young fans and budding athletes to follow his journey.

For young Filipinos and Filipinos watching, especially, he provided pride as the fuel for their ascent.

“You know, I think Filipinos are one of the most supportive people,” she said. “I just want to say to all the Filipinos watching, like, we’re very strong, we can do it … be proud of who we are – and I think it’s very important that, you know, I’m here to be ready for the Winter Olympics, like the first step.”