Lucas Pinheiro Braathen secured Brazil’s first winter gold
One of the biggest surprises at the Winter Olympics in Italy was when a Brazilian won their first gold medal.
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen made history for Brazil by clinching his nation’s first Winter Olympic medal with gold in the giant slalom. Pinheiro Braathen’s gold also marks the first medal won by any South American country at the Winter Games.
Born in Oslo to a Norwegian father and Brazilian mother, Pinheiro Braathen won World Cup medals for Norway before announcing his shock retirement in 2023 having lost his “joy of living”.
Exactly a year to the day, having regained his love for skiing, he returned to the sport in Brazil’s colours, wanting to honour his heritage on his mother’s side.
In snowy conditions in Bormio, the 25-year-old 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.
06 Dec, 2023
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