Flagbearer Tallulah Proulx of Team Philippines enters the stadium during the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, at Piazza Dibona, Feb. 6, 2026, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.
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Last month in northern California, 17-year-old American alpine skier Tallulah Proulx carved through the final gates of her last slalom qualifier and slid through the finish. She and her mom sat in their car afterward, suspended between hope and heartbreak in the thin mountain air, not yet knowing if her runs would be enough to get her to the 2026 Winter Olympics in northern Italy.

It was the last day of qualifications.

"My mom and I weren't sure until we had gotten in the car and were about to leave," Proulx recounted to CBS News.

The thrilling news arrived moments later: Proulx had qualified, by a slim margin, not only to compete at the Milano Cortina Games, but to make history: She is the first female from the Philippines to compete in a Winter Olympics, and also the country's youngest Winter Olympian.

"I was like, so happy, so excited, and it didn't feel real," she said, adding that her mother had a treat ready for potentially bad news. "My mom had gotten me a cookie and the funny thing is that we were saying this is a celebration cookie — and not a consolation cookie. We were just driving home and were celebrating."

Any nerves that had trailed her down the mountain melted into laughter, and that last California finish became her starting gate for Cortina.

"I'm definitely feeling some pressure," she said. "This is my big, first, like, international competition with this insanely high level of athletes. But the outcome, like, depending whatever the outcome may be, I'll just keep a positive mindset and just have fun and be here for the experience. And I'm really excited to show the Philippines and show the world what the Philippines can do."

Every Olympian's story begins somewhere far smaller than a packed stadium. For Proulx, it began close to the snow — at toddler height. She was just three years old when she clicked into her first pair of skis.

Growing up in Berkeley, California, Proulx's parents made the three-hour pilgrimage to Lake Tahoe for family weekends on the mountain with her and her brother. The rhythm of those early turns slowed at age seven, however, when her mom's job took the family to Iowa.

"Iowa is very flat," she laughed. "There is one little hill called Sundown Mountain. Shout out Sundown! And they only had a race team."

The mountain, though, kept calling. 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, she moved again, this time to Park City, Utah, to keep chasing speed, snow, and seconds.

"My family was incredibly supportive of my journey from the beginning. They are the ones who like, sent me to Vail to pursue my passion, even though it wasn't necessarily for all," Proulx said. "It was kind of difficult for the family so they ended up moving to Park City, but they were ones who believed in me and believed in my dream."

Choosing the final leg of Proulx's path to achieving her Olympic dream came down to both strategy, and realism. She and her family had to decide if she should try to represent Team USA, or Team Philippines.

"We definitely were, first of all, thinking of the best and easiest way," she told CBS News. "There are far fewer athletes competing for the Philippines than there are for the U.S. For the U.S., it would likely take — I would probably have to take a gap year, work your way up [to] the U.S. Ski team — and only like a few of them are here at the Olympics."

So the family settled on Proulx, a dual national, competing under the flag of her Filipino heritage.

"I definitely would not be here where I am right now if I was under the U.S. flag," she admitted.

At the Opening Ceremony in Cortina on Feb. 6, Proulx carried that decision into the bright lights, walking into the Olympic stadium beneath the red, white and blue — and yellow sun and stars — of the Republic of the Philippines, as the country's flag bearer.

Now she hopes the tracks she leaves behind will become someone else's trail forward.

"I would say if you're passionate and surrounded by the right people who are supportive of you and you have that passion in your heart and also a kindness to others, I think that you can pursue whatever you want," she urged any young fans and aspiring athletes following her journey.

To young Filipinos and Filipinas watching, in particular, she offered pride as fuel for their own climbs.

"You know, I think that Filipinos are one of the most supportive-type people around," she said. "I just want to say to all the Filipinos out there watching, like, we're so strong, we can do it … be proud in our identity - and I think that it's so important that, you know, I'm here for the Winter Olympics, being like a first step."

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