Tallulah and Francis: from the Philippines to the Milano Cortina Olympics
Among the athletes who will compete on the Olympic slopes in a few days are two young people who grew up in the United States and Italy, but who maintained a special tie to their tropical roots. Proulx, 17, will be the first woman to compete in a Winter Olympics under the Philippine flag. “I guess we are pioneers,” she said, hopeful that her fellow countrymen and women will learn more about these sports.
Milan (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Two athletes from a Southeast Asian country with a tropical climate will be among the athletes competing in Alpine skiing at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, starting 6 February in Italy.
At the starting gate, both will be wearing their ski suits and sporting the flag of the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, which through the many stories of its workers and diasporas, will also learn about the beauty of winter sports.
The two young athletes grew up in countries far from Manila but have managed to maintain in a unique way a link between their origins and their adopted communities.
Interest is particularly focused on Tallulah Proulx, who, at 17, will be the first Philippine woman as well as the youngest athlete from her country to participate in a Winter Olympics.
Proulx lives in Utah, USA, where she was born to an American father and a Philippine mother. She began skiing at the age of three during a vacation at a California ski resort.
She was seven when she first took part in a race, marking the beginning of her competitive career. In 2025, she made her international debut, representing the Philippines at the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, where, at just 16, she finished 16th out of 44.
She recently graduated from the Winter Sports School in Utah and trains at the Rowmark Ski Academy.
"I was really, really happy,” she told ABS-CBN after learning of her qualification, and “so grateful.” “I hope I can be a role model to other young Filipina girls," she added.
Alongside her at Milano Cortina 2026 will be Francis Ceccarelli, 22. Born in Quezon City, the young man was adopted as a child by an Italian family who instilled a passion for winter sports in him (his mother was herself a skilled skier in Italy).
Raised on the slopes of Abetone, in the Emilian Apennines, Francis underwent a lengthy process to obtain dual citizenship. At the Olympics in Italy, Francis will compete in the slalom and giant slalom.
“[M]y Filipino identity has always been with me,” he said. “Competing in the country that adopted me for the country where I was born represents for me a special bond between the two nations I love the most.”
Proulx and Ceccarelli hope to help nurture interest in alpine skiing in their homeland.
“I guess we are pioneers,” said Proulx. “I want everyone to know what fun alpine skiing is,” she added.
Their participation in the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics is part of a journey that saw Philippine athletes participate in past winter games in the past.
The first were cousins Juan Cipriano and Ben Nasasca, who took part in skiing events in 1972 in Sapporo, Japan. Both were born in the Philippines but raised in New Zealand.
The best result so far by a Philippine athlete at a Winter Olympics was figure skater Michael Christian Martinez's 19th-place finish at the 2014 Sochi Games.
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