By Jason Cruz
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
The Winter Olympics will take place next month in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo Italy from Feb. 6-22, 2026. There will be many Asian Americans to look out for competing for America and other countries.
For the first time the host country will have two distinct locations for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The Opening Ceremonies will be held in Milan, Italy while the Closing Ceremonies will be held over 200 miles away in Corina d’Ampezzo. The official name for these Winter Games will be the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Games.
Gu returns for China
Ailing Eileen Gu of China celebrates winning the final run of the Freeski Slopestyle World Cup at Laax Open, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Laax, Switzerland. (Andreas Becker/Keystone via AP)
The biggest Asian American name not on Team USA is Eileen Gu. The 22-year-old freestyle skier from San Francisco is once again competing for China. Not only is she ultra-talented in skiing, she attends Stanford and plays piano as a hobby. Gu’s mother is Chinese and her father is American.
Gu represented the United States in 2019 but switched to China later in 2019 and has competed with them after requesting a change of nation with the International Ski Federation. The goal was to compete in the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. She indicated that she wanted to “inspire millions of young people.”
Gu met her goal and won two gold medals and a silver in freestyle skiing during the last Winter Olympics.
After her success in Beijing in 2022, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world under the ‘Pioneers’ category on its annual list.
Not only is she known for her athleticism, she is also a model. She has been featured in campaigns for luxury brands Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co.. She is also a Red Bull-sponsored athlete and has sponsor deals with Victoria’s Secret and Porsche. Approaching this year’s Olympics, Gu has graced the covers of Time, Vogue Hong Kong and Vogue China.
At her young age, Forbes has her as the fourth highest paid female athlete in the World in 2025 making $23.1 million with most of it coming through off-field endorsements and sponsorships.
17-year-old representing the Philippines
Picture by tallulah_proulx instagram
Filipino American downhill skier Tallula Proulx is the first Filipina and youngest Filipino to ever qualify and compete in the Olympics. Proulx will compete in the giant slalom and slalom events. Proulx was born in California before moving to Park City, Utah. She started skiing at the age of 7.
She first skied for the Philippines at the 2025 Asian Winter Games finishing 16 in the slalom.
Prolux took up skiing when she was 3 years old during a family vacation in Lake Tahoe, California.
Zhu Yi skating for China
Zhu Yi of China competes in the Women Free Skating of the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Zhu Yi will be competing for the Chinese in Italy in figure skating. The 23-year-old Southern California native has been competing for China since 2018. She currently lives in China going to Peking University.
Zhu’s parents immigrated to the United States from China where her father was a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles.
Zhu competed for China at the Beijing Olympics. However, she received criticism for her initial performances in the team skate competition where she fell during her free skate performance which dropped China out of medal contention.
In the leadup to this year’s Olympics she won a silver medal at the 2025 Asian Open Trophy and a bronze at the 2026 Chinese Championships.
Princeton grad to represent American Samoa
Nathan Crumpton, of American Samoa, slides during men’s skeleton run 1 at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
40-year-old Nathan Crumpton is slated to represent American Samoa in the skeleton event in Italy. Crumpton was born in Nairobi, Kenya as his father worked for the United States Foreign Service. His mother is of Chinese Hawaiian descent. He lived in Kenya, Switzerland, Australia and then moved to Virginia for high school.
Crumpton excelled in Track and Field and was on the team at Princeton. He was a four year Division I athlete and all Ivy League athletes in the long jump and triple jump.
Crumpton started to compete in Skeleton with his first international event in 2015. In 2016, he was the top American slider ranked 8th in the world. Injuries prevented him from competing for the United States in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea. In 2019, he switched to American Samoa to represent his Polynesian heritage. He won the first gold medal in a winter sport at the North America’s Cup held in Park City, Utah.
Notably, Crumpton also participated in the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in track and field for American Samoa. He was chosen as the flag bearer for American Samoa in the closing ceremonies.
Many Olympic fans may remember his viral moment as the flag bearer for American Samoa in 2022 at the Beijing Olympics. He walked in traditional Samoan dress including without a shirt in frigid weather. “The one thing that did not get really cold were my hands,” he said after the Opening ceremonies.
Jason can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
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