Lucas Braathen To Represent Brazil In Return To Ski Racing

Ella Boyd
·2 min read

Red Bull Snow teased an exciting announcement to Instagram today. "Lucas Pinheiro Braathen is back, racers... watch out."

23-year-old Braathen, who competed for Norway until his surprise retirement last October, is back less than a year later, and this time will be representing Brazil.

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Braathen shared this news at a press conference in Salzburg, Austria today, Thursday, March 7th.

Braathen has five career World Cup race wins (three slalom and two giant slalom). He competed for Norway at the 2022 Beijing Olympics but did not complete either race.

Brazil sent 10 athletes, but came back with no medals. In other words, this decision could be a change for both Brazil and Braathen alike.

“Coming back to the sport of alpine skiing and representing Brazil makes me beyond proud,” he told Red Bull. "Being born and raised within a multicultural and uncommon background in winter sports, I made it my biggest goal to transcend sports by expressing myself.”

Braathen made the decision to ski for Brazil, the home country of his mother, after a disagreement with the Norwegian Ski Federation. In Norway, skiers do not have personal control over their image or marketing.

Pinheiro Braathen is known for doing things his own way, down to his painted nails, passion for DJing, or generally crazy style. While this has built him an impressive fanbase, officials are not always onboard with his eccentric acts.

For the rest of this season, the racer will be in intense Slalom and Giant Slalom training. Then, he travels to New Zealand for his final preparations before racing in the 2024-25 season in Sölden, Austria.

"I can't wait to come back and dance in front of you guys again."

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