Lucas Braathen defeats childhood friend McGrath to win men's World Cup slalom

Close friends since childhood, Lucas Braathen and Atle Lie McGrath fulfilled their shared dream Sunday by finishing 1-2 in a World Cup ski race.

Braathen, who is two days older than his fellow 22-year-old McGrath, got the win in a slalom to extend Norway's dominating run in the discipline.

Sporting his trademark painted fingernails, mostly black with one yellow smile emoji, Braathen retained his first-run lead to finish 0.71 seconds ahead. Linus Strasser of Germany was 0.92 back in third.

Braathen skied into the finish area and into the arms of McGrath who was waiting to congratulate him with an exuberant hug.

"It's incredible," Braathen said from Adelboden, Switzerland. "I see green lights and the first person I see is my partner in crime Atle."

"It's a day me and Atle have been dreaming for since the day we started skiing," said Braathen of their childhood together at the Bærums club in Norway. "I can't believe we are finally here."

Braathen's fifth career World Cup win, and third in slalom, lifted him atop the season-long discipline standings.

Norwegian racers have now won seven of the eight men's World Cup slaloms since the Beijing Olympics last February. Braathen and McGrath have two of those wins apiece.

Braathen, whose mother is Brazilian, also won the first slalom of the season last month at Val d'Isere, France.

Erik Read, the lone Canadian in the second run, did not finish. Liam Wallace, also from Calgary, was 39th in the opening run (58.63 seconds) and didn't advance while Asher Jordan recorded a DNF.

The American-born McGrath got his best result since ending last season with back-to-back slalom wins. His father Felix raced for the United States team in the 1980s including at the 1988 Calgary Olympics.

McGrath