Alpine skiing-Pinheiro Braathen embraces freedom after taking unconventional path to Olympic gold

Oct 22 : Olympic champion Lucas Pinheiro Braathen believes the freedom to shape his own career has allowed him to rediscover why he became a skier after the pressures of elite competition drove him to retire at the age of 23.

Braathen, who left the sport in 2023 following a dispute with the Norwegian Ski Federation, returned representing Brazil and went on to win giant slalom gold at the Milano Cortina Games, becoming the country’s first Winter Olympic champion. 

Ahead of the men’s Alpine World Cup opener in Soelden this weekend, the 26-year-old said creating an independent team had given him greater control over his sporting and commercial decisions.

“I put all the eggs in the basket of becoming the best ski racer in the world,” Braathen told Reuters in a video interview from Gurgl. “But the why was lost in that pursuit.”

Braathen won the World Cup slalom title in 2023 but announced his retirement later that year after falling out with the Norwegian federation.

He said he had faced a choice between continuing within a system that no longer reflected his ambitions and w.alking away from racing to pursue a life on his own terms.

“I could either continue skiing but put my own goals and dreams aside and be able to please the expectations of everyone around me, or I could pursue my true dream but put ski racing aside,” he said.

Braathen, who has a Brazilian mother and Norwegian father, announced his comeback in March 2024 and began competing for Brazil the following season.

SKIING IS A LIFESTYLE

His Olympic victory in February made him the first athlete from Brazil or any South American country to win a Winter Games medal. He later won last season’s giant slalom World Cup title and finished second in the overall standings.

Braathen