Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen wins giant slalom, earns South America’s 1st medal at Winter Games

BORMIO, Italy (AP) — There was dancing, plenty of dancing, for Brazilian ski racer Lucas Pinheiro Braathen as he performed samba steps over and over. To no real music, either.

There were emotions, too, especially when they played his national anthem. And reflection, for knowing what this moment meant now and could mean later.

Once a racer for Norway, Pinheiro Braathen switched to Brazil, his mother's home country, and with two powerful runs Saturday to win the Olympic giant slalom he earned the distinction of picking up South America’s first medal at a Winter Games.

“I’ve tried over and over again to put words into what it is that I’m feeling,” Pinheiro Braathen said. “But it’s simply impossible.”

He gave his country another reason to celebrate even if it already just so happened to be Carnival season. The fun-loving, samba-dancing skier had the perfect helmet for the occasion, too, stenciling on the back “Vamos Dancar” — “Let’s Dance.”

He did a rhythmic number in the first run that gave him a 0.95-second edge.

With snow falling and fog settling in on the final run, the 25-year-old Pinheiro Braathen remained cool and relaxed as he navigated his way through the technical Stelvio course. After seeing his place — No. 1 — he just stared. When it finally sank in, he fell to the snow before starting to scream.

He finished in a two-run combined time of 2 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’s a moment that’s hard to grasp, even though it’s crystal clear that you are officially the Olympic champion,” Pinheiro Braathen explained. “Even though I had such faith and I knew that this was written for me, it is still so incredible to live that dream turned reality. I couldn’t quite grasp it.”

Pinheiro Braathen comes from a family where his mother is Brazilian and his father is Norwegian. He started racing for Norway until abruptly retiring before the 2023 season, only to return a year later representing Brazil.

He’s already accomplished plenty of firsts with his new country: First Brazilian Alpine racer to finish on a World Cup podium last year and first World Cup win for the country this season.

Now, he’s the first Olympian from the South American continent to bring home a winter medal.

"The emotions that I’m feeling right now is an internal sun inside of me that is shining so, so bright and toward so many people,” he said. “I was skiing with my heart, and when you ski the way you are, anything is possible. The only thing that matters to me is that I remain who I am. I am a Brazilian skier who became an Olympic champion.”

That's why he got so choked up hearing his nation's anthem on the podium. Brazil has taken part of every edition of the Winter Olympics since 1992. The country’s best result until Pinheiro Braathen’s gold medal was ninth place in women’s snowboarding in 2006 with Isabel Clark.

“Being the reason that I get to hear and share that song in a stadium in the middle of mountains, because of a Winter Olympic gold medal for these colors, I’m beyond proud," Pinheiro Braathen said.

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

“I don’t have any hate or bad feelings about what has happened,” he said. “I’m just thankful, because it’s our differences in our perspectives that have forced me to confront myself to follow my own dream. And it was that heart, and that strength, that brought me to the top of the Olympics.”

It was another medal for Odermatt at the Milan Cortina Games. He also won silver in the team combined event, where he partnered with Meillard, and bronze in the super-G.

“Three medals,” Odermatt said, “is amazing.”

Odermatt was asked about seeing a Brazilian on top of the Olympic podium and its significance: "For me, it doesn’t represent anything. He did his whole education in Norway. He just switched to Brazil now, so I don’t care about this. But he’s an amazing skier, and I have respect for him as an athlete.”

Atle Lie McGrath of Norway finished fifth. He has known Pinheiro Braathen since they began racing together as kids for their ski club.

“We shared a nice hug over there,” said McGrath, who wore a black armband in tribute to his late grandfather. “I’m really proud of him.”

In Milan, Pinheiro Braathen's fans, decked out in green and yellow, crowded into “Casa Brasil.” They cheered for the entirety of his run, screaming and jumping to their feet once he finished. The sound system blared “We Are The Champions” before playing samba-infused songs for everyone to dance to.

For Pinheiro Braathen, it's hard for him to imagine how he will be perceived now that he's won gold for Brazil. He's eager to find out.

“I can't tell you how many comments I’ve read through from the day I started representing Brazil until becoming an Olympic champion today that has been along the lines of, ‘I have no idea of what’s going on, but let’s go Brazil. Let’s go Lucas,’” Pinheiro Braathen recounted. “I think it’s that unconditional love and support from the Brazilians, even though we’re still in this journey of introducing ski racing to Brazil, that I really brought with me today and allowed me to ski as fast as I did."

Associated Press Writers Stefanie Dazio in Milan and Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing and AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen speeds down the course, during an alpine ski, men's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, center, winner of an alpine ski, men's giant slalom race, jumps in celebration on the podium flanked by second placed Switzerland's Marco Odermatt, left, and third placed Switzerland's Loic Meillard, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen is overcome by emotion as he holds his gold medal for an alpine ski, men's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.(AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Supporters of Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen react at the Brazil House as he starts his second run in the men's giant slalom at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, center, winner of a gold medal in an alpine ski, men's giant slalom race, celebrates with silver medalist Switzerland's Marco Odermatt, left, and bronze medalist Switzerland's Loic Meillard, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen celebrates winning an alpine ski, men's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen celebrates winning an alpine ski, men's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course, during an alpine ski, men's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen competes during an alpine ski, men's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen checks his time at the finish area after the first run of an alpine ski, men's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen competes during an alpine ski, men's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

PHOENIX (AP) — Ta'Niya Latson scored 16 and Agot Makeer added 14 points and South Carolina played stifling defense to beat UConn 62-48 on Friday night, ending the Huskies' 54-game winning streak and advancing to the women's NCAA Tournament championship game.

The Gamecocks will face the winner of Texas and UCLA semifinal on Sunday for the title, capping off another March Madness. South Carolina (36-3) will be looking to win its fourth national championship. Their other three have come in the last decade.

UConn (38-1) entered the Final Four undefeated for the ninth time in school history and for the third straight time left without a title. The Huskies also lost in the 2017 and 2018 national semifinals. This was the fewest points UConn had scored since putting up 49 points in a national championship game loss to the Gamecocks in 2022.

The Huskies and Gamecocks played last season for the title and UConn came away with an 82-59 rout for the school’s 12th national championship. UConn also beat South Carolina handily during the 2024-25 regular season.

With less than a second remaining in the game, UConn coach Geno Auriemma walked across the court to shake hands with Dawn Staley and had an animated conversation with the South Carolina coach while pointing to the floor. Staley yelled back at him as assistants from both teams separated the two.

When the clock ran out finally, Auriemma walked straight to the tunnel and didn’t shake hands. The two teams did shake hands.

The teams came into the game as the second- and third-leading scoring teams in the nation, both averaging over 87 points per game. This was a defensive battle.

Leading 46-44 a few minutes into the third quarter, South Carolina scored five straight points, capped by Agot Makeer’s 3-pointer to extend the advantage to seven.

Sarah Strong hit a 3-pointer to get the Huskies back within 51-47 with 4:39 left. The Huskies didn't score again until Strong hit a free throw with 30.8 seconds left, after South Carolina had scored 11 straight points.

South Carolina clamped down on UConn’s two stars. Strong, who was honored as the AP Player of the Year on Thursday, had 12 points and 12 rebounds, but went 4 for 16 from the field. Azzi Fudd had just eight points for the Huskies, making only 3 of 15 shots.

UConn had its worst shooting night of the season finishing 19 for 61 (31.1%) from the field.

Trailing 26-24 at the half, South Carolina opened the third quarter with a 12-2 run to take the lead. The Gamecocks extended the advantage to 40-30 — the biggest deficit the Huskies’ had faced this season.

UConn, which missed 10 of its first 11 3-point attempts, then started to get hot from the field, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers, the last by Fudd to get within 40-39. The All-America guard had missed seven of her first eight shots as she was blanketed by South Carolina’s defense.

South Carolina’s Tessa Johnson scored the final four points of the quarter to make it 44-39.

Both teams had cruised to the Final Four, each winning in the first four rounds of the tournament easily. The Huskies had been rarely challenged all season long, routing their Big East opponents by record margins.

Facing their first real test in a long time, they had no answer.

The opening 20 minutes was full of missed shots and turnovers. The two teams combined to shoot 22 for 62 from the field (35.4%) and had 14 turnovers. UConn led 26-24 at the half.

There were dozens of former Huskies and Gamecocks players in the crowd including Diana Taurasi, Paige Bueckers and Aliyah Boston. Boston was sitting next to Flavor Flav, who is a huge supporter of women’s sports.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

UConn guard Azzi Fudd (35) fouls South Carolina forward Joyce Edwards (8) during the second half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

South Carolina guard Agot Makeer (44) and UConn guard Kayleigh Heckel (9) scramble for the ball during the second half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

South Carolina guard Ta'Niya Latson (00) drives against UConn guard Blanca Quinonez (4) during the second half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

South Carolina guard Tessa Johnson (5) shoots over UConn forward Sarah Strong (21) during the second half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

South Carolina guard Ta'Niya Latson (00) and South Carolina guard Agot Makeer (44) go for a rebound against UConn during the first half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)