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Kellie Delka is the only representative of Puerto Rico at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. She does not, however, compete for her home country.
Why?
Delka is a native of Texas. She moved to Puerto Rico about a decade ago. She competes in skeleton.
She explained the decision to rep her current home as opposed to her former one in a recent TikTok clip.
Who is Kellie Delka?
Kellie Delka is from the United States. She was a track athlete and cheerleader at the University of North Texas in Denton.
She became passionate about skeleton after wrapping up her college career. She moved to Puerto Rico in hopes of building interest in winter sports.
This not her first time at the Winter Olympics. She also participated last time around in the 2022 Games in Beijing.
She qualified this year as one of the Top 25 competitors in her sport. Delka was a flag bearer at the opening ceremony as her nation’s lone participant.
She is set to compete in heats starting February 13th following a week of training.
Why does she compete for Puerto Rico?
Puerto Rico is a US territory. It is, as Delka explains, its own nation when it comes to Olympic competition in both the Summer and Winter Games.
“I do live in Puerto Rico,” she says. “I train in Puerto Rico full-time… It (might be) confusing that I’m here. It saddens me to see people not accepting of me representing, because I feel I’m doing it in the most authentic way.”
Delka is aware of some backlash given her Texas roots. There are some who might think she should represent the US. She doesn’t feel the same.
While she admittedly does not speak Spanish, she is involved heavily in the community. That includes her day-to-day life, her profession, and her side hustle of selling bikinis to help fund her Olympic journey.
She is not the only US-born athlete competing elsewhere in the Winter Games. Skier Eileen Gu is representing China despite hailing from San Francisco.
For Gu, the decision was driven by family roots. For Kellie Delka, it’s about repping the place she currently calls home, even if it makes the journey a bit more difficult.