Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, 25, made history this Saturday (14) by winning Brazil’s first medal at the Winter Olympic Games, in Milan-Cortina (Italy). And it was the most valuable and coveted medal, the gold, in the giant slalom.
Something incredible, very difficult to believe. How is it possible for a Brazilian – Brazil is a tropical country, with an average annual temperature of around 25°C – to be a champion skiing on snow in the Italian Alps, on the Vallecetta mountain, with temperatures below zero?
The explanation lies in the geopolitics of sport. It is not uncommon for sportspeople with dual nationality to compete for the nation in which they were not born. This in several modalities.
Do you remember the knight Rodrigo Pessoa? Gold for Brazil at the Summer Olympics (Athens-2004) with the famous mount Baloubet du Rouet, he was not born in Brazil. He is a Brazilian citizen due to genealogy, but he was born in France and raised in Belgium.
Pessoa has always spoken foreign Portuguese, as it is not the language of his literacy, and the same happens with the now champion in the challenging zigzag curves of the Stelvio track, in Bormio.
Son of a Norwegian father and Brazilian mother, Lucas is from Oslo, the capital of Norway. He grew up in the Nordic country, where children practice cold sports like they play football in Brazil.
As a child, I liked to kick a ball, but practice was limited due to the intense cold in northern Europe. He touched the round. He switched to skiing, where he evolved and became very good at handling poles.
However, the competition in Norway is enormous, with dozens and dozens seeking limited places to compete in international competitions. Lucas was at risk of not qualifying for the Olympics, which are the stage for achieving greater glory.
Certainly this factor, combined with a disagreement with the local federation, made him decide to “change country” in 2023. He took off his uniform in the red, blue and white colors of Norway, and put on the green-yellow-blue-and-white of Brazil.
The rules of the International Ski Federation allow this migration without major bureaucracy or waiting period. Competing for Brazil, rivals are almost non-existent, and participation in the Winter Games, due to results on the international circuit, is guaranteed.
Lucas made a decision: to be a protagonist in his sporting life – he also became a protagonist in his private life, by dating a rising actress, the beautiful Isadora Cruz.
Through his own merit and effort, and without anyone truly believing in him (a Brazilian winning at the Summer Games is already a rarity, how will it happen at the Winter Games?), he got there. He left behind Norwegian compatriots and Swiss and Austrian beasts, among others from the old continent. Clap.
The triumph is Brazilian, but clearly the medal falls into Brazil’s lap due to the athlete’s convenience. If Lucas were shining for Norway, would he “change countries”? There would be no reason. So the result that praises Brazil comes from a sporting migration.
Not that Lucas has no connection with Brazil. He has. Visit the banana plantation (in the literal, non-pejorative sense), there are relatives here. It would be incorrect to say that there is no emotional bond, but victory, in this context, leaves a strange feeling.
It was not a victory of the brasuca heat over the papalagui cold, since the cold is Lucas’s old and constant companion. It was a victory, despite the half-Brazilian blood in the champion’s veins, with a foreign accent.
The historic gold has a Brazilian flag and anthem. He has no Brazilian training and culture. There is no demerit in this nor should anything be minimized, including the support of the Brazilian Snow Sports Confederation.
But here’s the thing: a Brazilian born and raised here would not be able to win. We don’t have training tracks, there are no slalom competitions. There’s barely any snow.
We should always win in football. We haven’t won the World Cup in 24 years. We win, in modern times and globalization, in alpine skiing – nothing less than Brazilian.
