Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, 25 years old, won this Sunday (16) the alpine skiing World Cup stage in Levi, Finland. He led the first down and maintained his performance in the second round.
It is the first time that Brazil has received the title. Lucas also won a reindeer, a typical animal from the region that will live in Levi, a tradition of the competition, in addition to around R$300,000 in prizes (47,000 Swiss francs).
The Brazilian led the first descent in the slalom with 54.13, a time 0.41 faster than that of Olympic and world champion Clément Noel, who was unable to overcome him and ended up in second place overall (final difference of 0.31), after two descents. Eduard Haalberg, from Finland, came third (+0s57).
On the podium, Lucas received the reindeer from Santa Claus, which he will name after his father, Bjørn, as he was the biggest supporter of his career as a skier, when young Lucas’ favorite sport was still football. Lucas is the son of Alessandra Pinheiro from São Paulo and a Norwegian man.
On February 6, the Winter Olympic Games will begin in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Lucas Pinheiros Braathen is considered the Brazilian with the most chances of winning the unprecedented Winter Olympic medal for the country. He competes in both slalom and giant slalom.
