Winter Olympics 2026: Lucas Pinheiro Braathen wins first Brazil medal with giant slalom gold

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, 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, 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.

Pinheiro Braathen's gold also marks the first medal won by any South American country at the Winter Games.

"There is nothing about today, in the heat of the moment, where you are, in any form, in a cognitive state," he said.

"I was skiing completely according to my intuition, and my heart today, and that's what enabled me to become an Olympic champion.

"It had nothing to do with the medal, it had nothing to do with the history that I had the potential of writing.

"I just wanted to ski as the person I am. I know I can be the best in the world, if I do that to the greatest extent."

In a race featuring 81 starters from 62 nations - including Madagascar, Eritrea and Kenya - Pinheiro Braathen had opened up a 0.95sec lead over Odermatt after the first run, with only seven skiers within two seconds of his pace.

Odermatt, the defending Olympic champion, put 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.

It means Odermatt, the current and four-time overall World Cup leader across the alpine skiing disciplines, leaves the Milan-Cortina Games without an Olympic gold, despite being expected to dominate.

Pinheiro Braathen's parents split when he was young and despite his 'ski bum' father getting custody, he spent his childhood criss-crossing the Atlantic and cultures.

Initially, he resented skiing. He felt far more comfortable playing football in Sao Paolo, and wanted to turn professional like his hero Ronaldinho.

He told his father his feet were "made for beaches and not hard-shell boots".

But aged eight, he started to change his mind, enticed by the high speeds involved in ski racing.

His nomadic lifestyle continued for many years, moving home 21 times before he turned 22.

"I'm a person of cultural duality," he told Associated Press. "Two perspectives always presented from birth and so for me I always find that I've never been living a life where I'm only presented to one reality, one culture or one way of living.

"It's always been these polar opposites and so I think that has shaped me to become who I am today and how I want to live my life."

That is as an eccentric, flamboyant character. He loves fashion, has walked the runway in Copenhagen and owns an apartment in Milan, Italy's fashion capital.

He paints his fingernails and is no stranger to samba dancing in the finish area, wanting to bring more colour to alpine skiing.

"People seeing themselves in a sport they were told wasn't for them, that stays with me," he said before the Games began.

"And the messages that say, 'I've never watched skiing before, but now I do'. Kids asking where they can try snow.

"Norway taught me how to be an athlete, how to brave the cold. Brazil taught me how to be myself."

Pinheiro Braathen won 12 medals on the World Cup circuit for Norway but stunned the skiing world when he retired aged just 23.

"For the first time in my career, I feel free," he said at the time, before booking a one-way ticket to Brazil.

Twelve months later, he was back with a new flag next to his name. He called it the "biggest project of my life".

He won his first World Cup in Brazilian colours in November, but speaking after his greatest triump on Saturday, he said: "I'm not even able to grasp reality, as I stand here right now. I am just trying to get some sort of emotion here and translate it into words, even though it's absolutely impossible.

"I hope I can inspire some kids out there that, despite what they wear, despite how they look, despite where they come from, they can follow their own dreams and be who they really are.

"Because that is the real source of happiness in life."

Click here to read article