Brazil’s Pinheiro Braathen wins gold, and South America’s first Winter Olympics medal : NPR

BORMIO, Italy — There was dancing, loads of dancing, for Brazilian ski racer Lucas Pinheiro Braathen as he carried out samba steps time and again. To no actual music, both.

There have been feelings, too, particularly once they performed his nationwide anthem. And reflection, for figuring out what this second meant now and will imply later.

As soon as a racer for Norway, Pinheiro Braathen switched to Brazil, his mom’s residence nation, and with two highly effective runs Saturday to win the Olympic big slalom he earned the excellence of selecting up South America’s first medal at a Winter Video games.

“I’ve tried again and again to place phrases into what it’s that I am feeling,” Pinheiro Braathen mentioned. “But it surely’s merely not possible.”

He gave his nation another excuse to have a good time even when it already simply so occurred to be Carnival season. The fun-loving, samba-dancing skier had the right helmet for the event, too, stenciling on the again “Vamos Dancar” — “Let’s Dance.”

He did a rhythmic quantity within the first run that gave him a 0.95-second edge.

With snow falling and fog settling in on the ultimate run, the 25-year-old Pinheiro Braathen remained cool and relaxed as he navigated his manner by the technical Stelvio course. After seeing his place — No. 1 — he simply stared. When it lastly sank in, he fell to the snow earlier than beginning to scream.

He completed in a two-run mixed time of two minutes, 25 seconds to beat Swiss racer Marco Odermatt, the defending Olympic champion, by 0.58 seconds. Odermatt’s teammate, Loic Meillard, earned bronze.

“It is a second that is laborious to understand, though it is crystal clear that you’re formally the Olympic champion,” Pinheiro Braathen defined. “Despite the fact that I had such religion and I knew that this was written for me, it’s nonetheless so unbelievable to stay that dream turned actuality. I could not fairly grasp it.”

Pinheiro Braathen comes from a household the place his mom is Brazilian and his father is Norwegian. He began racing for Norway till abruptly retiring earlier than the 2023 season, solely to return a 12 months later representing Brazil.

He is already completed loads of firsts together with his new nation: First Brazilian Alpine racer to complete on a World Cup podium final 12 months and first World Cup win for the nation this season.

Now, he is the primary Olympian from the South American continent to deliver residence a winter medal.

“The feelings that I am feeling proper now’s an inside solar within me that’s shining so, so brilliant and towards so many individuals,” he mentioned. “I used to be snowboarding with my coronary heart, and while you ski the way in which you might be, something is feasible. The one factor that issues to me is that I stay who I’m. I’m a Brazilian skier who grew to become an Olympic champion.”

That is why he bought so choked up listening to his nation’s anthem on the rostrum. Brazil has taken a part of each version of the Winter Olympics since 1992. The nation’s finest end result till Pinheiro Braathen’s gold medal was ninth place in girls’s snowboarding in 2006 with Isabel Clark.

Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen speeds down the course, throughout an alpine ski, males’s big slalom race, on the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.

John Locher/AP

cover caption

toggle caption

John Locher/AP

“Being the rationale that I get to listen to and share that track in a stadium in the course of mountains, due to a Winter Olympic gold medal for these colours, I am past proud,” Pinheiro Braathen mentioned.

He gave a shoutout to the Norwegian Ski Federation as effectively.

“I haven’t got any hate or dangerous emotions about what has occurred,” he mentioned. “I am simply grateful, as a result of it is our variations in our views which have compelled me to confront myself to observe my very own dream. And it was that coronary heart, and that power, that introduced me to the highest of the Olympics.”

It was one other medal for Odermatt on the Milan Cortina Video games. He additionally gained silver within the group mixed occasion, the place he partnered with Meillard, and bronze within the super-G.

“Three medals,” Odermatt mentioned, “is wonderful.”

Odermatt was requested about seeing a Brazilian on prime of the Olympic podium and its significance: “For me, it would not characterize something. He did his complete schooling in Norway. He simply switched to Brazil now, so I do not care about this. However he is an incredible skier, and I’ve respect for him as an athlete.”

Atle Lie McGrath of Norway completed fifth. He has identified Pinheiro Braathen since they started racing collectively as children for his or her ski membership.

“We shared a pleasant hug over there,” mentioned McGrath, who wore a black armband in tribute to his late grandfather. “I am actually happy with him.”

In Milan, Pinheiro Braathen’s followers, decked out in inexperienced and yellow, crowded into “Casa Brasil.” They cheered for everything of his run, screaming and leaping to their toes as soon as he completed. The sound system blared “We Are The Champions” earlier than enjoying samba-infused songs for everybody to bop to.

For Pinheiro Braathen, it is laborious for him to think about how he can be perceived now that he is gained gold for Brazil. He is keen to search out out.

“I am unable to inform you what number of feedback I’ve learn by from the day I began representing Brazil till changing into an Olympic champion right this moment that has been alongside the traces of, ‘I don’t know of what is going on on, however let’s go Brazil. Let’s go Lucas,'” Pinheiro Braathen recounted. “I believe it is that unconditional love and assist from the Brazilians, though we’re nonetheless on this journey of introducing ski racing to Brazil, that I actually introduced with me right this moment and allowed me to ski as quick as I did.”