Alpine skier Tallulah Proulx becomes the first Filipina to compete at the Winter Olympics

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Tennis player Alexandra Eala was a fan favorite at the Australian Open. Gymnast Carlos Yulo won two gold medals at the Paris Olympics.

And now Alpine skier Tallulah Proulx has become the first female athlete from the Philippines to compete in the Winter Olympics — and at 17, the youngest ever from the Southeast Asian country.

“This is a new era for the Philippines and sports on the global stage and I really am grateful that I get to be a part of it,” the U.S.-born Proulx said as she finished 50th in the slalom at the Milan Cortina Games on Wednesday after carrying her country’s flag during the opening ceremony.

She was 52nd in the giant slalom.

Proulx grew up skiing at the Sierra Tahoe resort in California, then moved at age 7 to Iowa and raced at tiny Sundown Mountain before moving on Colorado and then settling in Park City, Utah, where she now resides.

Proulx’s father is from the Eastern Samar province in the Philippines’ Eastern Visayas region.

“And I have a lot of relatives, family back there and honestly the response has been so heartwarming,” Proulx said. “Filipinos are just such warm and welcoming people. … I think that’s what makes us really strong and I’m so grateful that I get to be the first Filipina because I show that others can follow in my footsteps and hopefully get more involved into winter sports, which I know is quite hard in the Philippines.”

Proulx was slated to visit the Philippines for the first time a few years ago before her trip got canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, she has emersed herself in the country’s culture, thanks to her grandmother.

“Me and my brother grew up with her cooking — all of course the delicious Filipino food and sharing her culture,” Proulx said. “Unfortunately, last year she passed away. … I really wanted to push for this and wanted to represent such an important part of my heritage, both for her and for myself.”

In Cortina, Proulx traded pins with American slalom standout Paula Moltzan and got a picture with slalom gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin.

“It’s amazing being around these people that I’ve looked up to my whole life,” she said, “and then realize I’m skiing that course next.”

Next up for Proulx: a trip to the Philippines.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Philippines' Francis Ceccarelli reacts after completing an alpine ski, men's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Athletes from the Philippines walk during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Philippine's Tallulah Proulx speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Philippines' Tallulah Proulx celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Philippine's Tallulah Proulx speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

MILAN (AP) — Eileen Gu and all the other freestyle skiers wait for their scores by a large Powerade-branded cooler, then glide away without taking a drink.

Bottles of the blue sports drink are stacked in hockey penalty boxes. Even the tissues in figure skating's drama-packed “Kiss and Cry” area are branded.

One way the Olympics generally stand out is by the absence of advertising on courses, rinks and slopes. But increasingly at the Milan Cortina Games, sponsors are creeping into the action.

“We continue to open up those opportunities for partners,” International Olympic Committee marketing director Anne-Sophie Voumard said Wednesday, noting sponsor products can now “organically be present” more widely.

The change has seemingly accelerated since French luxury goods maker LVMH prominently placed its Louis Vuitton brand at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“It seems like there’s been an increasing need and desire from the sponsors for the IOC to show greater value in the TOP program (for the biggest partners)," Terrence Burns, who has worked for the Olympic body in marketing and consulted for sponsors and hosting bids, told The Associated Press.

There's product placement on TV, even if it is still restrained compared to most American sports. Spectators inside the Olympic arenas hear shoutouts by the announcers and see logos on the big screen.

It's all happening as sponsors eye fresh opportunities for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The IOC is looking to create extra value in its TOP program, which has been a financial success for the organization over four decades. There are 11 TOP sponsors in Milan, after peaking at 15 in Paris. Revenue in 2025 dropped a bit to $560 million in cash and services compared to $871 million in 2024.

An Olympic hockey game looks clean and non-commercial on TV to NHL fans used to seeing sponsors on the boards. It's a little different in the venue.

“This is the Corona Cero wave!” roars an announcer, attaching an alcohol-free beer brand to efforts to liven up fans at a quiet afternoon game with a wave around the arena.

An automaker gets a mention with the “Stellantis Freeze Cam” and an interview with a boxer during the intermission between periods is “thanks to Salomon,” a skiwear brand that signed a sponsor deal with the Milan Cortina organizing committee.

Burns thinks the logos in Olympic arenas are a morale booster for sponsors, but worth relatively little compared to the big campaigns they typically launch in the year before the Games.

“I think it’s a psychological ‘Attaboy’ to see your brand on a board somewhere in and around the Olympics," Burns said. "I get it, but show me how that helps you sell more things.”

The Olympic Charter, a kind of constitution for the Games, says any logo in an Olympic venue must be approved “on an exceptional basis,” but the IOC has gradually relaxed its restrictions.

“The Olympic world moves slow, and it should. It’s a 3,000-year-old brand, so they've got to be careful with it,” Burns said.

Barely a decade ago, the “clean venue” policy was so strict that IOC staff checked the hand dryers in arena bathrooms to make sure they had their manufacturer's brand covered with tape.

For the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, restrictions on athletes promoting their personal sponsors on social media were relaxed after a legal challenge in Germany.

The Paris Olympics saw medals delivered to the podium in Louis Vuitton-branded boxes before athletes were handed a phone for “the Olympic Victory Selfie, presented by Samsung," a new tradition that's continued at the Milan Cortina Games.

Voumard, the IOC's marketing director, acknowledged the need to "be mindful of the legacy of those (Olympic) Games and the uniqueness of the presentation.”

The Los Angeles Olympics will break new ground on sponsorship.

For the first time, the IOC has approved the selling of naming rights for venues in a pilot program. The volleyball venue in Anaheim will keep its Honda Center name, just like it does for NHL games, and Comcast is putting its brand on a temporary arena for squash.

Until now, stadiums named for sponsors have had to switch to generic names for the Olympics. The O2 Arena in London became the North Greenwich Arena for basketball and gymnastics in 2012, and a raft of French soccer stadiums got new names for 2024.

Burns predicts the IOC might come under pressure from Los Angeles organizers to take further sponsor-friendly steps, and might need to push back on some requests to protect the Olympic brand.

“It’s not unreasonable to think that LA would look to what happened in Paris with Louis Vuitton or even Samsung on a podium,” Burns said.

"It’s their fiduciary responsibility to try to make as much money as they can. So they’re going to be looking for any and all opportunities to generate incremental revenue from sponsors. That's the IOC’s role as a franchisor to protect that."

AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar contributed to this report.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Anastasiia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore of Australia wait for scores after competing, during the pairs figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Slovakia's Milos Kelemen, left, Slovakia's Erik Cernak, center, and Slovakia's Patrik Koch sit in the penalty box during a preliminary round match of men's ice hockey between Sweden and Slovakia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Fans are seen on a screen during an intermission of a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between Japan and Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

From left, silver medalist China's Eileen Gu, gold medalist Canada's Megan Oldham and bronze medalist Itay's Flora Tabanelli take a selfie after the women's freestyle skiing big air finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)