Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (Brazilian Portuguese: [piˈɲejɾu]; born 19 April 2000) is a Brazilian and Norwegian alpine ski racer who specializes in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom. He is the men's giant slalom champion at the 2026 Winter Olympics, becoming the first Brazilian and South American in history to win a medal at the Winter Olympics, as well as the first athlete representing any tropical nation to win a Winter Olympic medal. Until his retirement from World Cup racing in October 2023, he represented Norway in international events. In March 2024, Pinheiro Braathen announced that he would return to the alpine skiing circuit, representing Brazil instead. == Early life == Pinheiro Braathen was born in Oslo to a Norwegian father and a Brazilian mother on 19 April 2000. His parents got divorced when he was three years old and Lucas went to Brazil with his mother to live in the city of Campinas. Later in his childhood, he moved back to Norway to live with his father while regularly visiting Brazil. He grew up speaking Norwegian and Portuguese. Pinheiro Braathen first skied when he was three or four years old, but he did not start skiing again until he was nine years old. Braathen also played football as a child, though he preferred skiing as it is an individual sport. == Career == From Hokksund, Pinheiro Braathen raced for Norwegian club Bærums SK. At the Junior World Championships in 2019, he finished fourth and eleventh, followed by a silver medal in super-G, and a bronze medal in the combined event. He made his World Cup debut in December 2018 in Val d'Isere, and collected his first points (five) with a 26th-place finish. Pinheiro Braathen recorded his first victory (and podium) in October 2020 at the season opener, a giant slalom in Sölden. In 2022, he won his first slalom at the Lauberhorn race in Wengen, going from 29th place after the first run to first place after the second run, the largest jump to victory at that time. Pinheiro Braathen announced his retirement from World Cup racing on 27 October 2023, a day before the new season's opening event in Sölden, Austria. However, on 7 March 2024, he announced his return to alpine ski racing as a competitor for Brazil instead of Norway. On 27 October 2024, exactly a year after he had announced his retirement, he returned at the World Cup giant slalom season opener in Sölden, narrowly finishing in 4th place, behind three of his former teammates from Norway and scoring the first ever world cup points for Brazil in alpine skiing. On 6 February 2026, Pinheiro Braathen participated in the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics as the flag bearer of Brazil, alongside Nicole Silveira. On 14 February, he won the gold medal in the men's giant slalom, a historic first medal in the Winter Olympics for Brazil, South America and any tropical nation at the Winter Olympics. == Personal life == On 17 June 2025, he made his relationship with Brazilian actress Isadora Cruz public. == World Cup results == === Season titles === 1 title – (1 SL) === Season standings === Standings through 1 February 2026 === Race podiums === 6 wins – (4 SL, 2 GS) 22 podiums – (13 SL, 9 GS), 57 top tens == World Championship results == == Olympic results == == References == == External links == Lucas Pinheiro Braathen at FIS (alpine) Lucas Pinheiro Braathen at Olympics.com Lucas Pinheiro Braathen at Olympedia Lucas Pinheiro Braathen at InterSportStats Lucas Pinheiro Braathen at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database (Norway) Lucas Pinheiro Braathen at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database (Brazil) Lucas Pinheiro Braathen at Team Norway (in Norwegian) Lucas Pinheiro Braathen at Milano Cortina 2026 Lucas Pinheiro Braathen on Instagram