My mission is to win Brazil's first Winter Olympic medal - Braathen

Record ID: 2340549

  • Title: My mission is to win Brazil's first Winter Olympic medal - Braathen
  • Date: 7th February 2026
  • Summary: MILAN, ITALY (FEBRUARY 7, 2026) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRAZILIAN ALPINE SKIER, LUCAS PINHEIRO BRAATHEN, SAYING: "It's a feeling that's so big and so much bigger than me that words simply cannot describe it. You know, for me, the Olympic Games are a universal platform. It's a universal stage. People that both care or don't care about sports, they're here for this
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Alpine skiing Brazil Lucas Pinheiro Braathen Milano Cortina Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics alpine
  • Location: VARIOUS
  • City: VARIOUS
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Europe,Olympics,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA003353007022026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS NOTE - THIS PIECE WAS FIRST FILED BEFORE LUCAS PINHEIRO BRAATHEN WON OLYMPIC GOLD
    When slalom specialist Lucas Pinheiro Braathen announced his return to the World Cup circuit in 2024, his message was simple -- 'The time has come, Brazil. Let's dance.'
    On Saturday (February 14) the Norway-born 25-year-old made good on that vow as he won gold in the giant slalom, Brazil's first-ever medal at a Winter Olympics. In fact, it was the first medal for any South American nation at a winter games.
    After switching his allegiance from Norway to Brazil, the country of his mother Alessandra's birth and where he spent his early childhood, Pinheiro Braathen made it his mission to put the sprawling soccer-mad nation on the winter sports map.
    In November, he gave Brazil its first World Cup victory when he triumphed in a thrilling slalom race in Levi, Finland, beating Olympic champion Clement Noel to top spot.
    After clicking out of his skis that day, he sank to his knees in celebration before draping himself in green and yellow.
    He was rewarded with a reindeer for that win in Lapland but having repeated that performance on Bormio's Stelvio course, the caipirinhas are sure to flow at the Italian resort.
    (Production: Leonardo Benassatto, Lisi Niesner, Tim Hart)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Olympic restriction: Clip cannot be re-published without additional clearances from the IOC.
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