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BORMIO, Italy (AP) — Brazilian ski racer Lucas Pinheiro Braathen turned in a powerful final run to win the Olympic giant slalom Saturday and earn South America’s first medal at a Winter Games.
With snow falling and fog settling in, the 25-year-old Pinheiro Braathen remained cool and relaxed as he navigated his way through the technical Stelvio course. After seeing his place — No. 1 — he fell to the snow before starting to scream.
He finished in a two-run combined time of 2 minutes, 25 seconds. He beat Swiss racer Marco Odermatt, the defending Olympic champion, by 0.58 seconds. Odermatt’s teammate, Loic Meillard, earned bronze.
Pinheiro Braathen is the fun-loving, samba-dancing skier who’s ready to get this party started. On the back of his helmet, he has in big letters “Vamos Dancar” — “Let’s Dance.”
Fittingly enough, it’s Carnival season, too, a festival of parades, masquerades and partying made famous in places such as Brazil.
There’s plenty to celebrate because, “Brazil is an Olympic champion in Alpine skiing,” he said.
Pinheiro Braathen comes from a family where his mother is Brazilian and his father is Norwegian. He started racing for Norway until abruptly retiring before the 2023 season, only to return a year later representing Brazil.
“I just wanted to share this with everyone watching in Brazil, following me, cheering for me,” he said, speaking to TV Globo. “This can be a point of inspiration for the next generation of children, showing them that nothing is impossible. It doesn’t matter where you’re from. What matters is what’s inside. What the heart does. I bring Brazilian strength today to bring this flag to the podium. This is Brazil’s.”
He’s already accomplished plenty of “firsts” with his new country: First Brazilian Alpine racer to finish on a World Cup podium last year and first ever World Cup win for the country this season.
Now, first Brazilian gold medalist.
“I was pulling. Pulling, pulling, always pulling, trying to find where to step, always trying to find the rhythm,” Pinheiro Braathen said. “I was skiing with my heart, and when you ski the way you are, anything is possible. The only thing that matters to me is that I remain who I am. I am a Brazilian skier who became an Olympic champion.”
In Milan, his fans, decked out in green and yellow, crowded into “Casa Brasil.” They cheered for the entirety of his run, screaming and jumping to their feet once he finished. The sound system blared “We Are The Champions” before playing samba-infused songs for everyone to dance to.
He remains a popular figure, with one spectator wearing a “Lucas Fan Club” T-shirt at the Brazil House, while another clutched a sign declaring “I’m a fan of Lucas.”
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva celebrated his country’s first ever Winter Olympics medal on his social media channels.
“This unprecedented result shows Brazilian sport has no limits. It is the reflection of talent, dedication and continuous work to strengthen sport in every dimension,” Lula said. “Congratulations to Lucas Pinheiro and all the team involved in this historic achievement, which inspires new generations and widens the horizon for Brazilian sport.”
It’s another medal at the Milan Cortina Games for the 28-year-old Odermatt. He added this to the silver in the team event, where he partnered with Meillard, and bronze in the super-G.
Atle Lie McGrath of Norway wore a black armband in remembrance of his grandfather, who died on the day of the opening ceremony. He finished fifth.
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Associated Press Writers Stefanie Dazio in Milan and Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo contributed to this report
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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing and AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
