Lucas Pinheiro Braathen wins Brazil’s 1st Winter Olympics medal
Brazil has won its first medal in Winter Olympics history after Lucas Pinheiro Braathen captured gold in the men’s giant slalom at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Games. The victory also marks the first Winter Olympic medal ever won by a South American or Latin American country.
The race was held Saturday in Bormio, Italy. Braathen finished 0.58 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt, one of the sport’s dominant figures, to secure the gold.
As his time was confirmed, Braathen dropped to the snow and then screamed in celebration. He was later embraced by fellow competitors, including Odermatt, near the finish area.
Braathen, 25, was born in Norway to a Brazilian mother and Norwegian father and previously competed for Norway on the World Cup circuit. In 2023, he left the Norwegian national team after a dispute with the federation and later announced he would represent Brazil.
He entered the Games as Brazil’s top alpine skier and one of the few athletes from the country competing in a technical skiing discipline at an elite level. His decision to switch national teams placed Brazil in contention in an event traditionally dominated by European nations.
Brazil, a tropical nation with no natural tradition of alpine skiing, has historically focused on the Summer Olympics, where it has won medals in sports such as volleyball, athletics and football.
Participation in the Winter Games has been sporadic and largely symbolic, with small delegations competing in sports such as bobsled, cross-country skiing and alpine skiing.
No South or Latin American country had ever won a medal at the Winter Olympics. Most nations in the region have limited winter sports infrastructure and little tradition in snow events, sending small delegations compared with the large, medal-contending teams seen from Europe and North America.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
