Bormio, Italy – Lucas Pinheiro Braathen of Brazil stunned the field Saturday, claiming gold in the Men’s Giant Slalom at the Winter Olympics. The victory marks the first-ever Olympic gold medal for a Brazilian athlete in a winter sport, and the first for any South American nation in the event.
Historic Olympic Gold for Brazilian Skier
Braathen dominated the first run, building a commanding lead that no one could overcome. He finished the initial run 0.95 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt, the defending Olympic champion and World Cup leader in the discipline. Loic Meillard, also of Switzerland, trailed by a significant 1.57 seconds. Austria’s Stefan Brennsteiner was the top Austrian finisher in seventh, 2.00 seconds off the pace.
Conditions deteriorated significantly for the second run, with heavy, wet snow and even rain mixing in. The worsening conditions made holding an edge and maintaining speed increasingly difficult, and visibility was severely reduced. Marco Schwarz of Austria climbed into the top ten despite being 18th after the first run, while Croatian skier Filip Zubčić briefly skied without goggles.
The leading contenders faced the toughest conditions. France’s Leo Anguenot completed his run with his goggles completely covered in snow, and Switzerland’s Thomas Tumler managed to hold onto his first-run advantage. Loic Meillard struggled but ultimately found a good line to secure the bronze medal.
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Odermatt, knowing his teammates had navigated the challenging course, aimed to challenge Braathen’s lead.
Braathen didn’t deliver a flawless second run, making a few minor errors, particularly in the upper section. However, he withstood the pressure and maintained his advantage. His combined time across both runs was 0.58 seconds faster than Odermatt’s, securing a historic gold for Brazil!
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen’s victory represents not only Brazil’s first Olympic medal in a winter sport, but the first for all of South America. He previously competed for Norway before taking a break from the sport and a falling out with the Norwegian Ski Federation. Upon his return, he chose to represent Brazil, the country of his mother. This year, he became the first Brazilian to win a World Cup race, taking the Giant Slalom in Levi, Finland. He’s a unique figure for Brazil, a nation seeing the Winter Olympics televised for the first time.
“Lucas isn’t the stereotypical representative of the Norwegian nation, personified for youth by the comic, cold-eyed, blond, bearded giant throwing a spear at a bear. Braathen sometimes wears long skirts – a love of fashion! – rings on his fingers, necklaces and beads around his neck. He is somewhat eccentric, sometimes exuberant. He gets emotional easily,” described Radosław Leniarski on Sport.pl.
“Braathen’s return under the flag of his mother’s homeland has sparked interest in sports so much that Brazil has sent a record number of 14 female and male athletes to the Games in Milan and Cortina, and television giant O’Globo is broadcasting the Games live,” reads his article.
