Meet the American girl skiing into Philippines Winter Olympics history

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Last period successful bluish California, 17-year-old American alpine skier Tallulah Proulx carved done the last gates of her past slalom qualifier and slid done the finish. She and her ma sat successful their car afterward, suspended betwixt anticipation and heartbreak successful the bladed upland air, not yet knowing if her runs would beryllium capable to get her to the 2026 Winter Olympics successful bluish Italy.

It was the past time of qualifications.

"My ma and I weren't definite until we had gotten successful the car and were astir to leave," Proulx recounted to CBS News.

The thrilling quality arrived moments later: Proulx had qualified, by a slim margin, not lone to vie astatine the Milano Cortina Games, but to marque history: She is the archetypal pistillate from the Philippines to vie successful a Winter Olympics, and besides the country's youngest Winter Olympian.

"I was like, truthful happy, truthful excited, and it didn't consciousness real," she said, adding that her parent had a dainty acceptable for perchance atrocious news. "My ma had gotten maine a cooky and the comic happening is that we were saying this is simply a solemnisation cooky — and not a consolation cookie. We were conscionable driving location and were celebrating."

Any nerves that had trailed her down the upland melted into laughter, and that past California decorativeness became her starting gross for Cortina.

"I'm decidedly feeling immoderate pressure," she said. "This is my big, first, like, planetary contention with this insanely precocious level of athletes. But the outcome, like, depending immoderate the result whitethorn be, I'll conscionable support a affirmative mindset and conscionable person amusive and beryllium present for the experience. And I'm truly excited to amusement the Philippines and amusement the satellite what the Philippines tin do."

Every Olympian's communicative begins determination acold smaller than a packed stadium. For Proulx, it began adjacent to the snowfall — astatine toddler height. She was conscionable 3 years aged erstwhile she clicked into her archetypal brace of skis.

Growing up successful Berkeley, California, Proulx's parents made the three-hour pilgrimage to Lake Tahoe for household weekends connected the upland with her and her brother. The bushed of those aboriginal turns slowed astatine property seven, however, erstwhile her mom's occupation took the household to Iowa.

"Iowa is precise flat," she laughed. "There is 1 small elevation called Sundown Mountain. Shout retired Sundown! And they lone had a contention team."

The mountain, though, kept calling. When she was 10, her parents enrolled her successful a full-time, six-day-a-week skis programme successful Vail, Colorado. A twelvemonth later, successful 2018, she moved again, this clip to Park City, Utah, to support chasing speed, snow, and seconds.

"My household was incredibly supportive of my travel from the beginning. They are the ones who like, sent maine to Vail to prosecute my passion, adjacent though it wasn't needfully for all," Proulx said. "It was benignant of hard for the household truthful they ended up moving to Park City, but they were ones who believed successful maine and believed successful my dream."

Choosing the last limb of Proulx's way to achieving her Olympic imagination came down to some strategy, and realism. She and her household had to determine if she should effort to correspond Team USA, oregon Team Philippines.

"We decidedly were, archetypal of all, reasoning of the champion and easiest way," she told CBS News. "There are acold less athletes competing for the Philippines than determination are for the U.S. For the U.S., it would apt instrumentality — I would astir apt person to instrumentality a spread year, enactment your mode up [to] the U.S. Ski squad — and lone similar a fewer of them are present astatine the Olympics."

So the household settled connected Proulx, a dual national, competing nether the emblem of her Filipino heritage.

"I decidedly would not beryllium present wherever I americium close present if I was nether the U.S. flag," she admitted.

At the Opening Ceremony successful Cortina connected Feb. 6, Proulx carried that determination into the agleam lights, walking into the Olympic stadium beneath the red, achromatic and bluish — and yellowish prima and stars — of the Republic of the Philippines, arsenic the country's emblem bearer.

Now she hopes the tracks she leaves down volition go idiosyncratic else's way forward.

"I would accidental if you're passionate and surrounded by the close radical who are supportive of you and you person that passionateness successful your bosom and besides a kindness to others, I deliberation that you tin prosecute immoderate you want," she urged immoderate young fans and aspiring athletes pursuing her journey.

To young Filipinos and Filipinas watching, successful particular, she offered pridefulness arsenic substance for their ain climbs.

"You know, I deliberation that Filipinos are 1 of the astir supportive-type radical around," she said. "I conscionable privation to accidental to each the Filipinos retired determination watching, like, we're truthful strong, we tin bash it … beryllium arrogant successful our individuality - and I deliberation that it's truthful important that, you know, I'm present for the Winter Olympics, being similar a archetypal step."

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