Brazilian skier makes history with country’s first World Cup win: ‘Difference is a superpower’ | Skiing

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen made skiing history by scoring Brazil’s first ever World Cup victory in a thrilling season-opening race in Levi on Sunday.

Pinheiro Braathen, who switched allegiance from Norway to Brazil last year, held a 0.41 second lead from the first run and blasted his way through the gates again in a frigid second run to claim the historic victory.

French Olympic slalom champion Clément Noel finished second, 0.31 seconds slower, while Finnish fans at the Arctic Circle resort loudly celebrated Eduard Hallberg’s third place.

Brazil is better known for football and samba – and only has artificial ski slopes – but after 25-year-old Pinheiro Braathen crossed the finish line, he dropped to his knees and roared in triumph, having become one of the South American country’s most unlikely sporting stars.

“I try to ski with my heart and in my own way, even if it involves big sacrifices,” said Oslo native Pinheiro Braathen. “Being yourself is a difficult path, but for me it is the right path, and today it took me to the top.”

Shortly after the Brazilian anthem blared in the postcard-worthy finish area, Pinheiro Braathen was presented with the traditional Levi winner’s prize: a reindeer.

Pinheiro Braathen, who said he reluctantly took up skiing at the age of eight after being introduced to the sport by his father, is no stranger to the heights of a World Cup podium.

He won five times in the colors of Norway, three times in slalom and twice in giant slalom and in 2023 he was crowned champion of the Slalom World Cup. But his victory on Sunday was very special for the technical specialist who left the sport before the start of the 2023-24 season following a dispute with the Norwegian ski federation, only to return a year later to race for Brazil, his mother’s homeland and the one he believes helped shape his colorful personality.

With his fashion statements and appearances as a DJ on the club scene, Pinheiro Braathen brings his own twist to the traditional world of ski racing and says he wants to help make the sport more culturally diverse.

“I hope that showing that I can put Brazil on the map of such a sport will encourage people from countries that are not well represented to dare to try it,” he said shortly after arriving in Brazil. “If I could just convince one kid to keep doing it, it would make me the happiest person in the world.”

He made good on that vow on Sunday, and while most Brazilians will still have their eyes on next year’s FIFA World Cup, interest in the Winter Olympics could soar on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro.

Sunday’s race was a gripping contest and at one point it looked like little-known Briton Laurie Taylor might win after a scintillating second-fastest run put him into first place. Then Hallberg sparked wild celebrations by going 0.04 seconds faster than the Briton who finished fourth, his career-best finish.

Noel put the pressure on in the penultimate heat of the day to take the lead, but the script was already written for Pinheiro Braathen.

“If there are kids watching, your difference is your superpower – believe it,” he said.