Brazil have won their first ever Winter Olympic medal – a gold – courtesy of ski racer Lucas Pinheiro Braathen in the Giant Slalom at Bormio today.
Having the number one bib in the first leg, Braathen was initially unsure about how good his run was, but that became clear as most of the racers following finished around two seconds or more behind him. Only a few, including Swiss ski racing legend Marco Odermatt, the winner of the same race in Beijing four years ago, came closer, although he was still almost a second behind.
With such a lead and deteriorating conditions, coupled with being the last of 30 to race the course, Braathen held his never to win by more than half a second.
It’s believed Braathen’s win is not only the first by a Brazilian ski racer, but the first Winter Olympic medal for any South American nation. Up to now, despite having the Andes, only it, Africa and Antarctica were the continents without a Winter Olympic medal.
Pic credit: Red Bull
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