BORMIO, Italy (AP) — Lucas Pinheiro Braathen wouldn't change the way he was flying through the course in Monday's Olympic slalom.
Sure, he fell in the first run. Sure, it ended any hopes of another medal.
But that charge, that no-holding-back approach from the Brazilian ski racer also led him to a gold two days before in the giant slalom at the Milan Cortina Games. It was a gold that gave South America its first medal at a Winter Games.
A gold that had Brazilians celebrating back home and everyone from the nation’s president to Brazilian soccer great Ronaldinho sending praise his way.
It's a fine line in ski racing, between pushing too much and holding back just enough, and he experienced both spectrums.
“You’ve got to ski with your heart and you’ve got to give it everything you’ve got, and that’s what I did," Pinheiro Braathen said. “But the sport of Alpine skiing, what makes it the art that it is, is a fine balance between strategy, technique and intensity.”
It was a simple mistake, he acknowledged. One moment, Pinheiro Braathen was in a rhythm, his time fast and his skis singing. The next, his ski was sliding out from under him and he was tumbling to the snow, sliding down the course.
With that, the Brazilian ski racer's Olympics were over. A "DNF” — did not finish.
“Of course I’m conflicted. Oh man, this sport,” Pinheiro Braathen said. “It brings you up to the sky and it just slams you back into reality equally as fast.
“I take with me a lot of growth, from both beautiful and amazing experiences, and I take with me what happened today. That gold was a product of all the highs and the lows equally as much.”
The 25-year-old 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. His country celebrated his gold medal, which just so happened to coincide with Carnival.
Nothing could take away that feeling — not even a wipeout.
“This means the world to me, it means everything,” Pinheiro Braathen said. “Every time I step on that start gate, that’s all that matters to me. Yeah, a complicated sensation as we stand here right now. Of course, it goes without saying that I’m so beyond proud. I still have this sun inside of me that’s just blossoming, and I’m just so happy.”
It was tricky conditions for the racers, with the snow heavily falling and the fog making visibility difficult.
“This is a course you have to absolutely get after,” he said. “You have to push. You have to create everything yourself. I did so, but you have to do it with composure.”
It has been an emotional few days for Pinheiro Braathen, with so many reaching out. He's trying to soak it all in — even the lows from a fall.
“I’ve come to the stage in my career where I’ve learned to embrace all of the failures as well with gratitude because I know what that results in,” he said. “Growth is the answer.
“What I’ve been able to prove myself to the greatest extent, perhaps, is that daring to be who I am is my source of happiness, and happiness for me is my definition of success.”
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen reacts at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen speeds down the course, during an alpine ski, men's slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen skis down after crashing during an alpine ski, men's slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
