Pinheiro Braathen performs snow samba to celebrate Brazil's first podium in a World Cup ski race

It’s not just soccer anymore. Brazil is finding World Cup success in skiing now, too.

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen became the first Brazilian skier to finish on a World Cup podium when he placed second in a giant slalom in Beaver Creek, Colorado, on Sunday.

Pinheiro Braathen celebrated the achievement in truly Brazilian — and Pinheiro — style: with a samba dance on the podium, the Brazilian flag wrapped around his waist and cowboy boots on his feet.

“What a moment to break out a dance in front of all these amazing fans here today. I came onto the circuit to make a difference. I came here to be myself and hopefully be an inspiration to the outcasts out there, to the people that feel a bit different, to follow their own path,” Pinheiro Braathen said.

“It’s such a privilege to be able to be the first one to bring the Brazilian flag — something that I’m so proud of — up to a winter sport World Cup podium,” he added.

Pinheiro Braathen’s mother is Brazilian and his father is Norwegian. He had raced for Norway until abruptly retiring a little more than a year ago after getting into a dispute with the Norwegian ski federation following modeling work for a rival brand of the federation’s clothing supplier.

In March, Pinheiro Braathen announced his comeback for Brazil, a federation that had not been represented on Alpine skiing’s World Cup circuit since 2016.

Brazil has never won a medal at the Winter Olympics but now Pinheiro Braathen will likely be a contender at next season’s Milan-Cortina Games. So could Nicole Silveira, who finished third in a World Cup skeleton race in Pyeongchang, South Korea, last month for Brazil’s first podium result in a winter sport.

The only man who competed in Alpine skiing for Brazil at the 2022 Beijing Olympics was Michel Macedo, who didn’t finish his second slalom run.

Pinheiro Braathen's result got little coverage in Brazil on Sunday, which was also the day when the final round of the nation's soccer league was being played. But skiing is hardly followed in Brazil, where there is not much in the way of Alpine resorts. Argentina and Chile are better known as skiing destinations in South America.

Pinheiro Braathen won five World Cup races when he represented Norway: three slaloms and two giant slaloms. He also won the 2022-23 season-long slalom title — overcoming a midseason appendectomy.

One of skiing’s most vibrant personalities, known for painting his fingernails and a taste for fashion, Pinheiro Braathen often cites Ronaldinho and Dennis Rodman as his idols. He noted how many challenges he’s had to overcome in the sport.

“It’s standing up against all the pressure and all the potential judgement that follows when going your own path,” he said, noting that skiing is “a quite masculine” sport.

“Being someone (who) likes to dress a bit differently and do me, I just take pride in that and I hope that the history that I’m able to write today can represent the effect of following your own path and the potential that lies in just being who you are in order to be happy,” Pinheiro Braathen added.

Having put down the fastest second run after placing fourth in the opening leg, Pinheiro Braathen finished a slim 0.12 seconds behind Swiss first-time winner Thomas Tumler to improve upon two fourth-place finishes earlier this season. He celebrated with skiing’s version of a mic drop, letting both of his skis fall to the snow as he faced a crowd that included a fan club wearing the yellow jerseys of Brazil’s national soccer team.

Up next, Pinheiro Braathen will aim for Brazil’s first victory on snow in giant slalom and slalom races in Val d’Isere, France, next weekend — where his mom, Alessandra, who is from Sao Paulo, is expected to be on hand to cheer him on.

AP Sports Writer Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo contributed.

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

Second place finisher Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen celebrates after a men's World Cup giant slalom skiing race, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Beaver Creek. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen reacts after competing in a men's World Cup giant slalom skiing race, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Beaver Creek. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen reacts after competing in a men's World Cup giant slalom skiing race, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Beaver Creek. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen reacts after competing in a men's World Cup giant slalom skiing race, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Beaver Creek. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Second place finisher Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, left, wears cowboy boots during a medal ceremony after a men's World Cup giant slalom skiing race, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Beaver Creek. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen competes during a men's World Cup giant slalom skiing race, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Beaver Creek. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen reacts after competing in a men's World Cup giant slalom skiing race, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Beaver Creek. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen reacts after competing in a men's World Cup giant slalom skiing race, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Beaver Creek. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Second place finisher Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen celebrates with a Brazilian flag tied around his waist after a men's World Cup giant slalom skiing race, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Beaver Creek. (AP Photo/John Locher)

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan acknowledges that sharing a name and party affiliation with the incumbent Republican gives him “an instant megaphone" in the crowded primary race. But Sullivan said his campaign isn't a sham or something Democrats put him up to doing.

He said friends for years have jokingly referred to him as senator and asked if he has ever thought about running. He said he’s been considering it for more than a decade.

“This is my choice,” Sullivan, who lives in the small fishing community of Petersburg, said in a telephone interview Monday.

Last week, Sen. Dan Sullivan accused the challenger Sullivan of “trying to trick” voters to help his main rival in the race, Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola. The senator suggested the other Sullivan's entrance in the August primary was part of a coordinated effort by Democrats and Peltola's campaign to confuse voters, an accusation they deny. He threatened litigation to get to the bottom of it.

The issue is of national concern to Republicans because they are seeking to hold onto their majority in the U.S. Senate in what is expected to be a difficult midterm election year for the party in power. Sullivan, the challenger, dismissed claims that his candidacy is a merely a ruse to undermine the senator's reelection chances.

He said he has had no contact with Peltola's campaign — “zero, none, zilch” — and said “no” when asked if anyone from the state Democratic Party or any national Democratic operatives had contacted him to run.

A Peltola spokesperson, Harry Child, has said the campaign “has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.” The executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party, Jenny-Marie Stryker, said her organization “is in no way affiliated with either Dan Sullivan.” A Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson, Monica Robinson, replied “no” when asked if the group had been involved in urging the challenger Sullivan to run.

Sullivan called sharing a name with the Alaska's incumbent U.S. senator “a matter of fate” and said he had done nothing wrong.

“I have every right to run for whatever office I'm qualified for, and I’m qualified for this office,” the challenger said, adding: “I think I’m doing what most Americans would think would be a patriotic thing to do when you’re unsatisfied with the status quo. You stand up and say, I’m going to fight for things I believe that are going to make my community better.”

Ballots in prior years in Alaska have not identified the incumbent, but the Alaska Division of Elections’ current candidate list online does. It also distinguishes the candidates using a middle initial — Dan S. Sullivan for the senator and Dan J. Sullivan for the challenger.

Alaska has open primaries in which the top four vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the ranked choice general election in November. Sen. Sullivan's campaign worries having two Dan Sullivans on the ballot could confuse voters.

Sen. Sullivan's campaign, in a statement Monday, said, “Alaskans deserve a fair and honest election — not political games meant to manipulate the ballot and benefit Democrats.”

The challenger said he was registered with the limited government-leaning Alaskan Independence Party for decades, until the party's dissolution late last year. Election officials had said voters registered with the party could change their affiliation but if they did not, they'd be shown as “undeclared.” Sullivan said he then was listed as undeclared until filing to run for office, when he registered as Republican.

He said he was motivated in part by his late father, whom he described as a “true, compassionate, conservative Republican.” He said if he had to label himself, it would be “a pragmatic Republican centrist” — similar to Alaska's senior U.S. senator, Lisa Murkowski, but “with touches of a Rand Paul Republican in there.”

He said he grew up in the Chicago area but was drawn to Alaska and put down roots nearly 50 years ago in Petersburg. The fishing community of about 3,400 in southeast Alaska's Tongass National Forest is known as “Little Norway” for its many residents with Scandinavian roots. He worked for the U.S. Forest Service before changing careers and becoming a teacher. He has since retired.

Like most communities in Alaska, Petersburg isn't connected to the state's main road system and is accessible only by air or water. Juneau, the nearest city, is about 45 minutes away by plane.

Petersburg sits on Mitkof Island, which is distinguished by mountains, thick stands of forest and boggy areas called muskeg. Sea lions hauled up on buoys and humpback whales and orcas are common sights off its shores.

Sullivan, who will turn 69 this weekend, passed on an interview request last Friday, he said, because the king salmon were running and he wanted to fish.

As far as his run for office, the challenger said he plans to do some fundraising and hopes to campaign in the state's larger cities, including Anchorage and Juneau, but he so far has no firm plans to do so and is working on the details.

He finds the current dustup over his Senate run — and the incumbent's reaction — a bit surprising.

“I guess my thought would be, ‘Dude, why don’t you just run your campaign?’ If you’ve got a strong record, run on your record. People will love you for it and you’ll be swept back into office,” he said Monday. “Why would he be concerned that a guy out of Petersburg is this huge threat?”

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, heads to a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)