2026 Olympics: The Philippine diaspora sends two skiers to the Winter Games

Tallulah Prouix and Francis Ceccarell represents the Philippines in the 2026 Games.

The closest thing to snow in the Philippines is the shaved ice in halo halo, a wonderful dessert full of fruit, sweet legumes, flan and Ube ice cream. That’s why some people are surprised to see the tropical country field a team for the Winter Olympics.

When the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics kicked off Feb. 6, the Philippine flag was flying flying high on the slopes—thanks in large part to the global Filipino diaspora.

While the Philippines might not have snow, it certainly has a deep well of talent and pride living abroad. This year, two alpine skiers raised far from the islands—are proving that "Laban Pilipinas" knows no borders.

Meet the Historic Duo:

At just 17, Tallulah Proulx is already a history-maker. The Uhah-based skier is the first-ever Filipina and the youngest athlete to represent the nation at the Winter Games. Inspired by her late grandmother and her mother’s heritage, Proulx hopes to be a role model for young girls everywhere, showing them they belong in winter sports.

Francis Ceccarelli, 22, was born in Quezon City but raised in the mountains of Tuscany, Italy, by his adoptive parents. A seasoned skier who began competing for the Philippines in 2023, Ceccarelli is fulfilling a lifelong goal to honor his birth nation on what is essentially his home snow in Italy.

“Since I started skiing, my Filipino identity has always been with me,” Ceccarelli told Olympics.com.

“It represents where I was born and where I'm from. It was a goal for me to ski for the Philippines, because it is not every day that we have a Filipino athlete skiing at international level,” 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.”

The two skiers wil be competing against elite skiiers from countries where skiiking with more training facilities and, well, more snow. For the Philippines' athletes, its the journey that matters. 

"I hope that me being at the Olympics and representing the Philippines opens up a whole new exposure to sports and what it can become," Proulx told CNN about Filipino representation in the Winter Olympics.

Ceccarelli and Proulx will compete in the giant slalom and slalom events beginning February 14,

A growing trend of diaspora support

The presence of these athletes isn't an accident. This marks the Philippines' seventh appearance at the Winter Olympics, continuing a tradition that began in 1972. 

The Philippine Ski and Snowboard Federation has been active in identifying and recruiting "kababayans" living in colder environments to represent the motherland. This strategy allows the Philippines to field a competitive team in sports that are geographically impossible at home.

The Filipino curling team celebrate the Philippiines first gold medal in the Asian Winter Games.

Beyond the alpine slopes, the diaspora’s influence has extended into other winter sports, with curling teams primarily composed of Filipino Swiss members also vying for their place on the world stage in recent years. The team barely missed qualifying for the Olympics after winning the gold medal in the Asian Winter Games. 

The Philippines' curling team, predominantly based in Switzerland, consists of skip Marc Pfister, Enrico Pfister, Christian Haller, Brayden Carpenter and Alan Frei.

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Whether they grew up in the Rockies or the Apennines, these athletes are showing the world that you don't need a cold climate to have a warm heart for your heritage.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

2026 Olympics: Five Asian American figure skaters make US Olympic team bringing total of 14 AAPI going to the Games

Evan Bates and Madison Chock have gold medal hopes.

UPDATED: Jan 20 to include the three speed skaters on the US Olympic team; and Feb. 1 to include alpine skiier Tallulah Prouix; and Feb. 9 to add Bea Kim.

The United States figure skating team for the 2026 Olympics was announced January 11 after the US Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis.

Five Asian Americans will be part of 16-member 2026 US Olympic team hoping to earn Olympic medals at the Winter Games that will be held in Milan-Cortina, Italy beginning Feb. 6.

The Asian Americans on the team are:

Alysa Liu, who retired after the 2022 Beijing games is in her secong Olympics. Last year the California-born UCLA student returned to world of the competitive sport and is the reigning World Champion. However, at the US championships, she finished second behind veteran Amber Glenn and ahead of Isabeau Levito.

As one of the best known skaters on the team and not lacking in confidence, the 20-year old said: "Well I'm not the youngest this time," Liu joked after the event. "I'm feeling older... not really, I'm really, really good!"

FYI: For more information on the full US Olympic figure skating team, you can visit the official U.S. Figure Skating website or the NBC Olympics site.

Hawaii-born Madison Chock is teaming up with her husband and long-time partner Evan Bates to compete in ice-dance competition.

After winning their record-setting seventh national title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on January 10, 2026m Chock and Bates are among the favorites to win the elusive Gold Medal. It will be her fourth Olympics and Bates' fifth and won a bronze medal in Beijing.

"We are so excited," says Chock. "The Olympics definitely never loses its luster. I'm just as excited as I was the first we made the team. It's such an honor to be a part of Team USA and represent our country and U.S. Figure Skating at the Olympics. I feel so grateful to be part of this team. All of the people on the team are so incredible, so special and so talented."

Kam and O'Shea

Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea  are perhaps the sleeper of the Games. Together only two years, the pair went on to do well in international competitions. after her initial partner left, O'Shea stepped in. Together they earned a gold medal in the US championships.

She was born on Yokota Air Base in Western Tokyo to a mom who was a competitive runner representing Japan and a dad who was a surgeon in the US Air Force.

Kam's original partner left her two years ago and O'Shea, 33, had retired years earlier and was acting as a coach. When Kam needed a partner for practice, O'Shea stepped in. The chemistry was good and they went on to compete as a team.

Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe are the second pair for Team USA. Although they finished fourth at the 2026 US Championships, the gold medalists (Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov) and bronze medalists (Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman) were ineligible due to not having US citizenship, which made Chan and Howe the second eligible American pair selected for the Olympic team based on a committee decision.

"[Asian Pacific American Heritage Month] means connecting with your roots. It's a blessing for me to have Japanese heritage," says Howe, who is learning to speak Japanese.

US SKATE

Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe will be competing in their first Olympics.

"This month is important because it emphasizes the importance of embracing Asian culture and background and encourages people to also understand and be curious about their identities," Chan said. "My family is a mix of different Asian cultures, so I'm always learning who I am in that combination."

At the 2022 Winter Games, the US figure skating team also had five AAPI athletes represeinting the US. Except for Nathan Chen, no one won a gold medal.

Nathan Chen, who is the reigning Olympic gold medalist in men's singles, decided to not compete this year after an injury and instead, focus on his medical studies at Yale.

Despite Chen's absence, the US has a good chance to capture the men's gold medal again. Ilia Malinin, AKS the "Quad God," is one of the finest skaters in the world today.

Other AAPI athletes in the 2026 Winter Games:

Olympic hero Chloe Kim is back.

Snowboard Half-pipe

Chloe Kim has already qualified for the US Olympic team for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina. She secured her spot in May 2025 by winning the 2025 World Championships and ranking as the top American in the top three on the World Snowboard Points List.

Kim will be competing in her third consecutive Olympic Games, having previously won gold medals in the halfpipe in PyeongChang in 2018 and Beijing in 2022. She is aiming to become the first woman to win three consecutive Olympic halfpipe gold medals.

Another teammate, Bea Kim,  (no relation)18, from Palos Verdes, California, will be making her Olympic debut in the half-pipe.

"The Olympics are more than just sport. They represent global unity and peace," wrote the 18-year-old Bea Kim in a social media post on Sunday. "Diversity is what makes the United States so special. It is woven into the very fabric of our country."

Snowboard Sloopestyle

Hailey Langland has been nominated to the 2025-2026 US Snowboard Team, making her a strong prospect to compete for a spot in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina. The official US Olympic team selections for the 2026 Games are currently underway during the 2025-2026 season.

Filipino American Langland is a two-time Olympian and a key member of the US women's pro slopestyle team. After sitting out the 2024-25 season due to injury, she has returned to the World Cup circuit for the current Olympic qualifying season and recently secured a second-place finish at a US Grand Prix event in October 2025.

Former track athlete Mystique Ro will compete in the skelton

Skelton

Mystique Ro, a Korean American, will compete in her first Olympics realizing a dream. In high school and college, she competed as a track athlete. After she ipeaked out as a hurdler, she transferred her skills to a new sport: Women's Skeleton and the newly added Skeleton Mixed Team Relay, where she and partner Austin Florian are reigning World Champions, aimisto bring Team USA its first skeleton gold in over two decades.

"I'm one of 11 children nd I’m the second oldest." said the 31-year old Ro, who was born in California and raised in Virginia. "A sport was my outlet to be more individualistic – to be myself."

Speed Skating

Brandon Kim: A first-time Olympian, he qualified as a national champion and world cup medalist, balancing training with studies at Stanford.

Eunice Lee: Heading to her second Olympics, Lee is a relay silver medalist from the 2025 World Championships, representing Washington state.

Andrew Heo: Also a second-time Olympian, Heo brings a bronze medal from the 2024 World Championships and recent World Tour success.

Free Ski

Although born in San Francisco, CA., Stanford student Eileen Gu will compete for the People's Republic of China again.

In 2019, Gu committed to representing China in international competitions with the desire to develop a deeper connection to her heritage and inspire young Chinese athletes.

At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Gu became the first freestyle skier to win three medals at the entire event, securing gold in Big Air, gold in Halfpipe, and silver in Slopestyle.

Alpine Ski

Born in Berkeley, California, Tallulah Proulx is a 17-year-old alpine skier who made history in January by becoming the first female and the youngest athlete from the Philippines to qualify for the Winter Olympics. She moved to Park City, Utah, to attend the Rowmark Ski Academy at Rowland Hall, where she trains up to six days a week. She will compete in the Women's Slalom and Giant Slalom.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

2026 Olympics: '60 Minutes' interviews Olympic hopeful Alysa Liu

The Chinese American skater is back and looking forward to this year's Winter Olympics.

Alysa Liu, the skating star, is the United States favorite to win a Gold Medal in Women's singles skate, a feat that hasn't happened in decades.

After "retiring" as a teenager, Liu says her "second act" in the sport shifted to a more mature approach - one in which she was in more control and one she takes more joy.

“I get to pick my own programme music. I get to help with the creative process of the programme. If I feel like I’m skating too much, I’ll back down,” she explained in the "60 Minutes" Sunday, Jan. 4.

“If I feel like I’m not skating enough I’ll ramp it up. No one’s going to starve me or tell me what I can or can’t eat.”

Watch the interview, here:

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

Madison Chock and partner win 3rd straight gold at World's Figure Skating championship

The US ice dance team of Evan Bates and Madison Chock finished their performance at World''s.

It seems that the ice dance team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates have been around for years. And, they have!

Chock and Bates won their third straight gold medal at the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships on Saturday (March 2).

“This one definitely feels extra special. To do it in front of a home crowd and to have two of our best skates of the season, I don't think we could have done anything better than that,” Chock said. 

“To have the programs come to fruition like you imagine them at the beginning of the season and to execute them like that at the world championships is a dream come true and one that we've worked really hard for.”

Madison's full name is Madison La'akea Te-Lan Hall Chock, reflecting her Chinese-Hawaiian heritage on her father's side.

        FYI: Ice figure skater Alysa Liu back from her retirement

In winning their third crown at World's, Chock and Bates, became the most decorated US ice dance team at the World Championships in history, became the first US ice dance team ever to win three World titles and the first ice dance team to three-peat worldwide. With three golds, a silver, and two bronze medals, the duo has brought home hardware from half of their dozen appearances in the global championships.

“This has been such a magical week,” Chock said in the press conference after their winning performance. 

“We had two incredible skates. I could not be prouder of Evan, and I am so grateful for our coaching team and our family and friends who have supported us. It’s certainly not easy to do this and chase your dreams year after year, so we are just grateful and appreciative to everyone who has helped us on this journey.”

The three-peat makes the husband-wife team and marks them as gold medal favourites heading into the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games to win the ice dancing gold medal, an accomplishment that has eluded them in the past four  Olympics.

"We're going to soak this one in for now," Bates said. "Certainly our goal is to be on top of the podium in Milan. This doesn't really change that."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.