Lucas Pinheiro Braathan achieved a historic milestone by winning Brazil's first-ever Winter Olympic medal on Saturday, February 14.
Pinheiro Braathen, who returned to competitive skiing after his unexpected retirement in 2023 claimed gold in the giant slalom, marking a historic moment as the first-ever Winter Olympic medal won by a South American country.
The 25-year-old delivered an outstanding performance on the Stelvio course, finishing 0.58 seconds ahead of Swiss skier Marco Odermatt, the defending Olympic champion to win gold.
After achieving this historic milestone, Pinheiro Braathen said, "There is nothing about today, in the heat of the moment, where you are, in any form, in a cognitive state. I was skiing completely according to my intuition, and my heart today, and that's what enabled me to become an Olympic champion," as per BBC Sports.
He added, "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."
On the other hand, Odermatt's teammate Loic Meillard took bronze.
Pinheiro Braathen won 12 medals on the World Cup circuit for Norway.
