Lucas Braathen: Alpine skiing star targets South America's first-ever Winter Olympic medal - 'I'm the happiest I've been in my life'
ByTNT UK
Published 06/10/2025 at 12:14 GMT+1
In an exclusive interview with TNT Sports, Lucas Braathen reveals he has never felt in better shape to compete for a podium finish. The Winter Olympics in Milan is the skier's primary objective, having used the off-season to make improvements to his performance following a helter-skelter 2024/25 World Cup campaign. Braathen says it will be an "honour" to represent the birthplace of his mother.
Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen
Image credit: Getty Images
Alpine skiing sensation Lucas Braathen hopes to become a trailblazer for more Brazilians to take up the sport, and has his sights set on winning South America's first-ever Winter Olympics medal in 2026.
The Norwegian-born racer has admitted that the 2024/25 World Cup season was a "roller coaster," having lost his way at times before claiming five podium finishes across slalom and giant slalom.
It meant he became the first Brazilian to stand on an FIS Alpine Ski World Cup podium.
The 25-year-old is continuing to inspire his compatriots, carrying the hopes of the country's 200 million people heading into Milano Cortina 2026, which you can watch live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Reflecting on the lessons he learned from the past 12 months, Braathen told TNT Sports: "The most important value that I bring into the upcoming season is that the second I started skiing for others, the second I start skiing for results, for trophies, for statistics, for whatever it is, I lose myself and I lose my abilities with that.
"I am the best version of myself when I am who I am, and I ski for the reason that made me start skiing. If I'm able to connect with who I am and my purpose, that is when I ski fast.
"Now, I'm probably at the happiest state that I've ever been in my life. I feel so content. I feel so fulfilled. I get to wake up every single day and pursue my dreams."
Those dreams have included a mission to put Brazil on the map of Alpine skiing, and just mentioning the Samba nation to the man who first went skiing with his dad at the age of nine brings a huge smile to his face.
"It means everything to me," continued Braathen, when asked about the significance of competing for Brazil. "This is what's meant for me. This is what's been missing in my life: full freedom to be who I am to the greatest extent.
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Lucas Braathen returned to Alpine skiing in March 2024
Image credit: Getty Images
"For me, representing Brazil in a sport that they're yet to be represented in at the highest level, the Winter Olympics, the biggest stage in the world, is such an honour.
"More than anything, I think this project represents change. I think it represents that everything is possible and that it doesn't matter what badge is on your suit.
"Where you come from, what you look like, and what clothes you wear.... it's about what your dreams are. And I hope to be an example of just that."
Braathen won the slalom Crystal Globe in the 2022/23 World Cup season under the Norwegian flag before his shock retirement in October 2023, as a result of a fallout with the Norwegian Ski Federation.
It is now 19 months since he returned to skiing, representing Brazil, the home country of his mother.
He returns from his summer break recharged, having reflected on improving his rankings from 41st at the start of last season to fifth in his discipline standings and sixth overall.
While the Winter Olympics are on the horizon, Braathen will also enter select super-G events in pursuit of the overall Crystal Globe.
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Braathen zu Gast in KitzbĂĽhel: "Dann vermisse ich den Skisport"
Video credit: TNT Sports
"This season has a lot of opportunities to offer," he said. "I want to be a contender for great results every single time that I show up at the start gate.
"So with the big World Cup season coming in, with the Olympics taking place, we've gone through some changes in our sports program. We've changed around a little in the team.
"For the first time, I've skied in my continent, in South America. I went to Ushuaia [in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina] this year, which was a really special experience.
"I also think that I thrive when I get to explore somewhere new. So having this variation of skiing somewhere that I've never been was something that I'm happy we got to do ahead of such an important season."
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Braathen is hoping the changes to his preparations pay off this winter, but acknowledges he is part of the most competitive generation the sport has ever seen, citing Marco Odermatt among those setting such high standards that are helping him create the best version of himself.
Whilst he feels honoured to compete in the World Cup alongside such esteemed company, Braathen certainly holds his own and is not going to be making up the numbers when he takes to the slopes in pursuit of further accolades.
Looking ahead to Milan next year, he spoke bullishly about his chances of a podium finish - and what it takes to be in contention.
"Olympic gold is the biggest thing you can achieve in sport," Braathen proclaimed. "It's the biggest stage that sport has to offer, and it's very much because of how much of a universal stage it is.
"It is a stage where you get to inspire on such a great scale. That's why it makes it the biggest achievement possible.
"I'm definitely working my way towards being a contender for the overall. I've been in the top positions in the overall standings for several seasons in my career thus far.
"To fight for the very top, you need to be a contender for great results in three disciplines. As of right now, I'm frequently on the podium in both giant slalom and slalom.
"I need to add that third discipline, and I need to be competitive in it, so that is one of many factors as to why we've changed things up in this pre-season.
"We have to start targeting that third discipline and start introducing some experience that can lead me to start becoming competitive in super-G as well.
"It is about maintaining and keeping developing that level in slalom and giant slalom, and adding on that super-G to firstly make my way up to the top three overall. I need to leave this career with an overall goal - that's the biggest thing you can do in this sport."
The 2023 slalom Crystal Globe champion admits he is not the sort of athlete who lives and breathes the sport of his profession, explaining that he can only perform at his very best if he allows himself time to fully reset.
"I work on projects that take me to a completely different state than what skiing does," he added. "I think exploring how I can inspire beyond skiing is the contrast that I'm looking for to find the balance that I need in my life.
"Some athletes need to be an athlete 24/7, 365 days a year, and that's what their life is. If it's someone who respects that, it's me. It just simply isn't who I am. And I need a contrast in my life.
"I feel like I'm a result of all of the other things in my life that I've been exposed to. I'm half Brazilian, I'm half Norwegian. I've moved around everywhere in my life with high frequency. I never feel like I've been exposed to one reality and one reality only.
"I've always had polar opposites at a high frequency. And so I think that's shaped me to become who I am. That's my balance."
The 2026 Winter Games will take place from February 6-22, with the event shown live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
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