Alpine skiing-Norway's men hope parallel career paths will lead to medals in slaloms

YANQING, China : Norway's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen and Atle Lie McGrath were born two days apart and have somehow managed to mirror each others careers to an eerie degree, a feat they hope to crown with Olympic medals in the upcoming giant slalom and slalom races.

Currently the number one on the slalom World Cup circuit, 21-year-old Braathen has spent more time training and living with Alpine ski team mate McGrath than without him.

"Our journey started at the age of eleven. It's been all the ups and downs from that point on," half-Brazilian, half-Norwegian Braathen told reporters ahead of the their runs in the giant slalom scheduled for Sunday and slalom for Wednesday.

They entered the European Cup at the same time having had their World Cup debuts within days of each other, and also climbed their first podiums in the same season. Last year in January, they suffered their first serious injuries on the same day, in the same race at the Adelboden giant slalom.

"Until today it's been quite the journey and it is the journey it has been because we've been doing it together and I think we're depending on each other. I think our progression has a lot to do with the way we work since the age of 11 and since the day we got injured," Braathen said.

McGrath, whose parents are former World Cup racer Felix McGrath and cross-country skier Selma Lie, was born in the United States but grew up in Norway. He came second at the slalom in Schladming last month.

"For Lucas and I this is quite an emotional journey and moment, we were injured together in the same race about a year ago. I remember we were sitting there, dreaming and hoping we will be in the Olympics, which has been one of our biggest goals since we were kids," McGrath said.

When asked