ERROL BARNETT:
00:00:00
So Ramy Inocencio has been speaking with one Olympic hopeful. You're looking at California-born Tallulah Proulx. She's a dual US-Filipino citizen and is the first woman to qualify for the Philippines at the Winter Olympics. Just consider that. At 17 years old, she's also the youngest Filipino to compete at the games. Here's some of their conversation. Here's the athlete housing. Come follow me. I'm so excited and so honored to be here. I initially got my last giant-slalom qualification result at the beginning of January. I was in Northstar in California. My mom and I weren't sure until we had gotten in the car and were about to leave and go home. How did you celebrate? Well, my mom had gotten me a cookie. And the funny thing is that we were saying, oh, thank goodness this is a celebration cookie and not a consolation cookie. We were just like-- we were driving home, so we were celebrating. Not to put the pressure on you, but as we know, you are the first female to represent the Philippines and the youngest athlete to represent the Philippines in a Winter Olympics. All of that on your shoulders, one here, one here. How do you feel about that? Honestly, I'm definitely feeling some pressure. And, of course, this is my big first international competition with this insanely high level of athletes. So you're a dual national, American and Filipina. Yes. My father has Filipino citizenship, so we went to the San Francisco consulate for the Philippines, and I got all my documents officiated so that I could compete for the Philippines. There's Philippine pride, Pinoy pride for you. In terms of choosing one or the other, I suppose that is-- you have to think about that too, right, about representing the US, representing the Philippines, or whichever country. So we definitely were, first of all, thinking of the best and easiest way for me to get on an international stage. There are far fewer athletes competing for the Philippines than there are for the US. For the US, it would likely take-- I would probably have to take a gap year, work your way up the US ski team, and only a few of them are here at the Olympics. So the thought process was, why don't we just have her represent my Filipino heritage and also showcase the Philippines to the world, while simultaneously connecting back to my culture? If a young athlete anywhere, regardless of nationality, is watching right now, what would you say to them in terms of chasing their dream? 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 the kindness to others, I think that you can pursue whatever you want. And the other shoulder, as a young Filipina and with many Filipinos watching, what would you like them to know for inspiration? I think that Filipinos are one of the most supportive people around. I just want to say to all the Filipinos out there watching, we're so strong. We can do it. Filipino pride. Be prideful in our identity.
