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Brazilian skis racer Lucas Pinheiro Braathen swiped distant the contention with a almighty last tally successful the Olympic elephantine slalom connected Saturday, winning golden and earning South America's first-ever medal astatine a Winter Games.
With snowfall falling and fog settling in, the 25-year-old Pinheiro Braathen remained chill and relaxed arsenic helium navigated his mode done the method Stelvio course. After seeing his spot — No. 1 — helium fell to the snowfall earlier starting to scream.
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen of Team Brazil competes during the Men's Giant Slalom astatine the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics astatine Stelvio Alpine Skiing Centre connected Feb. 14, 2026.
Alexis Boichard / Agence Zoom / Getty Images
He finished successful a two-run combined clip 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 the bronze medal.
The Norwegian-born Pinheiro Braathen is the fun-loving, samba-dancing skier who's acceptable to get this enactment started. On the backmost of his helmet, helium has successful large letters "Vamos Dancar" — "Let's Dance." He represented Norway until October 2023, erstwhile helium abruptly retired from the sport.
In March 2024, helium announced helium would instrumentality to the alpine skiing circuit, representing Brazil — his mother's autochthonal state and wherever helium spent overmuch of his youth.
He's already accomplished plentifulness of "firsts" with his caller country: First Brazilian Alpine racer to decorativeness connected a World Cup podium past twelvemonth and first-ever World Cup triumph for the state this season. Now, the archetypal Brazilian golden medalist.
Another Brazilian jock could gain different medal connected Saturday. Nicole Rocha Silveira, who was calved connected the confederate extremity of Brazil and moved to Canada astir property 7, is ranked ninth successful the satellite successful women's skeleton and is among the favorites successful that event.
Pinheiro Braathen and Silveira each carried the Brazilian emblem astatine antithetic sites during the Opening Ceremony past week.
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