Lucas Pinheiro Braathen made history for Brazil by clinching his nation’s first Winter Olympic medal with gold in the giant slalom.
Born in Oslo to a Norwegian father and Brazilian mother, Pinheiro Braathen won World Cup medals for the country of his birth before announcing his shock retirement in 2023 having lost his “joy of living”.
Exactly a year to the day later, having regained his love for skiing, he returned to the sport in the green and yellow of Brazil, wanting to honour his heritage on his mother’s side.
In snowy conditions in Bormio, he delivered a masterclass on the Stelvio piste to beat Swiss great Marco Odermatt to gold by 0.58 seconds, with Odermatt’s team-mate Loic Meillard taking bronze.
His gold also marks the first medal won by any South American country at the Winter Games.
In a race featuring 81 starters from 62 nations – including Madagascar, Eritrea and Kenya – Pinheiro Braathen had opened up a 0.95-second lead over Odermatt after the first run, with only seven skiers within two seconds of his pace.
Odermatt, the defending Olympic champion, put the pressure on the Brazilian with a scorching second run, but only a crash would have denied Pinheiro Braathen the top step of the podium as he held his nerve in worsening weather.
More to follow.