Skier Lucas Pinheiro Braathen once again wrote a page in his country’s sporting history by becoming the first Brazilian to win the Crystal Globe in giant slalom, after winning this Tuesday (24) in Hafjell, Norway, the last race of the season.
For the 25-year-old skier, it is the second Crystal Globe he has won in his career, after having won the slalom three years ago, when he was still competing for Norway.
Afterwards, he decided to change nationality and represent Brazil, his mother’s country, to which just over a month ago he gave his first Olympic medal at the Winter Games after winning gold in the giant slalom.
Before the last race this Tuesday, Pinheiro Braathen was 48 points behind in the general classification in relation to Marco Odermatt, but the Swiss went off the grid on the first descent and opened the way for the Brazilian to conquer.
Pinheiro Braathen was already the best in this first descent, with an advantage of 21 hundredths, and resisted in the second descent to surpass the Swiss Loïc Meillard (by 58 hundredths) and the Norwegian Atle Lie McGrath (by 87).
“I hope to inspire other people out there, that they know they can do this too. This shows that everyone should pursue their dream. Having this Crystal Globe, with the Brazilian flag, makes me very proud,” said Braathen.
The men’s alpine skiing World Cup will close on Wednesday with the slalom, in the same Norwegian resort, where Pinheiro Braathen will seek the double.
To do this, he needs to look for another recovery, the 41 points advantage that his great friend McGrath has over him.
