Samba in the snow

When you think of Brazil, you think of the Amazon, of tropical rainforest with anacondas, piranhas, tarantulas and toucans. Of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Copacabana. Carnival. The scene with the cable car to Sugarloaf Mountain and the giant with the iron teeth from the James Bond film *Moonraker*. World-class footballers like Pelé and Romário. Gooooooal for Brazil! And bossa nova and samba. Lots and lots of samba.

And to Lucas Pinheiro Braathen. Er… to whom? Lucas Pinheiro Braathen.

snow in Brazil

Brazil is the largest country in Latin America and the fifth largest country in the world, with a population of over 213 million. Geographically, it lies at the same latitude as Central and Southern Africa. You will not find high mountain ranges with perpetual snow, such as the Andes, in Brazil. It does snow occasionally in five of the 26 states, but since the^19th century there have only been three occasions when more than 1 metre of snow fell.

But now Brazil has Lucas Pinheiro Braathen!

a Brazilian skier

Slalom skiing is just like football. A former English footballer once defined the sport as ‘a match between two teams of eleven players, and in the end Germany wins’. In skiing, it’s the Swiss, the Austrians or the Norwegians who win. And occasionally an Italian, a Frenchman or a skier from the US will make it onto the podium. But at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, the Brazilian skier Lucas Pinheiro Braathen left all his competitors behind in the giant slalom.

Olympic gold! Lucas Pinheiro Braathen.

dancing on skis

The 26-year-old Pinheiro Braathen is the son of a Norwegian father (a touch of Norwegian after all!) and a Brazilian mother. He is certainly no one-hit wonder. He has secured several World Cup victories in slalom and giant slalom, including on famous ski slopes such as Wengen, Val-d’Isère and Kranjska Gora. Initially he competed for Norway, but since 2024 he has been representing Brazil.

As the first of 81 competitors, Pinheiro Braathen began the first run of the giant slalom in Bormio at 10.00 am on Saturday 14 February. And later that afternoon, he was the last to complete the second run. Like a samba dancer, Pinheiro Braathen glided down the slope, weaving through the gates. And he won by a very comfortable margin.

Samba in the snow. Lucas Pinheiro Braathen.

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen made sporting history. In almost 100 years, he was the first Brazilian to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. In fact, he was the first South American ever to win a medal at the Winter Olympics.

And unrest continued for a long time in São Paulo, in Rio de Janeiro and on Copacabana Beach …

Samba in the snow! Lucas Pinheiro Braathen.