Lucas Pinheiro Braathen: How Olympic Gold Changed His Approach to Ski Racing

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen / Sölden 2026 / GEPA pictures

Following his Sölden World Cup victory, Brazil’s Olympic champion reveals how achieving his greatest dream brought new freedom, renewed motivation and an even bigger ambition.

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen has won Olympic gold, claimed the giant slalom World Cup title and opened the 2026–27 season with another commanding victory. Yet the Brazilian star believes his greatest achievement may be something no stopwatch can measure.

He has discovered a new sense of freedom.

After winning Sunday’s men’s giant slalom in Sölden, Austria, Pinheiro Braathen spoke candidly during a postrace press conference recorded by Ski Racing Media. Rather than focusing on medals or records, he described how reaching his biggest dream forced him to reconsider what drives him to compete.

The answer, he believes, has changed his relationship with skiing.

And the transformation could make him an even more formidable competitor.

• 🇧🇷 Olympic champion: Pinheiro Braathen won Brazil’s first Winter Olympic gold medal in February 2026.
• Sölden victory: He opened the World Cup season by defeating Loïc Meillard and Marco Odermatt.
• New motivation: He is finding satisfaction in improvement, curiosity and the sensations of skiing.
• Bigger ambition: After finishing second overall last season, he is pursuing his first overall World Cup title.

What Happens After Achieving Your Biggest Dream?

For most athletes, Olympic gold represents the ultimate destination. For Pinheiro Braathen, achieving that dream presented an unexpected challenge.

What comes next when the goal that shaped your career is already accomplished?

“I believe that when you kind of reach potentially your biggest dream, referring to the Olympic gold, it puts you to a true test of why you’re really doing what you’re doing,” he explained.

“Do you do it for the trophies, do you do it for the medals, or do you do it for something that goes beyond that?”

His answer has become central to his preparation for the new season.

Rather than measuring satisfaction exclusively through results, Pinheiro Braathen has embraced the process of becoming a better skier.

He described a growing curiosity about what he can accomplish on snow and a deeper connection with the sensations that make skiing meaningful.

“I really feel like I’ve been able to channel this sort of curiosity for simply wanting to become better and feeling even more connected with myself every single day that I ski.”

For an athlete who has already reached the highest level, the shift is significant. Success remains important, but it no longer appears to be his only source of satisfaction.

Finally Feeling Above Water

Pinheiro Braathen’s journey back to the World Cup has been anything but conventional.

After stepping away from racing in 2023, he returned representing Brazil, his mother’s homeland. His comeback eventually produced an Olympic gold medal and the 2025–26 giant slalom Crystal Globe.

However, his accomplishments did not mean the process always felt comfortable.

At Sölden, he offered a revealing assessment of where he and his team stand today.

“I truly feel like it’s the first time ever since I came back to skiing that I feel like we’ve gotten our head above water.”

That sense of stability has changed the atmosphere surrounding his racing.

He described greater calm, trust and freedom within himself and his team. Those qualities, he believes, contributed directly to Sunday’s victory.

It also suggests his Olympic success did not mark the end of an extraordinary comeback. Instead, it may have provided the foundation for his next stage of development.

The Freedom to Adapt and Win

Sunday’s race offered an immediate examination of that new perspective.

Strong winds forced organizers to shorten the Rettenbach glacier course, while difficult visibility and demanding snow conditions challenged the field.

Pinheiro Braathen responded by winning the opening run and defending his advantage in the second. He finished 0.48 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Loïc Meillard, with Marco Odermatt another hundredth behind.

He credited more than confidence for the result.

Throughout the preseason, Pinheiro Braathen and his team experimented with different approaches and trained in a wide range of conditions. The objective was not to prepare for one perfect race environment.

It was to become capable of succeeding regardless of what the mountain presented.

“I don’t work to be able to win in certain days. I work to be able to win in every single day.”

He described embracing everything from soft snow to hard surfaces, sunshine to snowfall, and learning from each experience.

That preparation helped him trust his skiing when conditions became difficult.

“I was able to adapt and become one with whatever environment I was served and just ski with my heart.”

For Pinheiro Braathen, freedom does not mean abandoning discipline. It means trusting the work enough to perform without unnecessary hesitation.

The Overall World Cup: A New Challenge in Super-G

Despite his new perspective on success, Pinheiro Braathen has not diminished his competitive ambitions.

Quite the opposite.

After finishing runner-up in last season’s overall World Cup standings, he believes he is ready to challenge for skiing’s most demanding season-long prize.

“One of my biggest goals is to bring home an overall globe before I’m done as a skier.”

He was equally clear about his confidence.

“I feel like I am at that stage in my career where I’m capable of doing that. So let’s go for it.”

His pursuit of the overall title also includes exploring possibilities beyond his established strengths in slalom and giant slalom.

Pinheiro Braathen plans to add super-G racing to his schedule, with early opportunities in Colorado. However, the decision appears to reflect more than a strategy for collecting additional World Cup points.

Super-G presents a new challenge that fits his growing curiosity about skiing. It offers opportunities to develop different skills, explore his potential and discover what he can accomplish in another discipline. That ambition aligns with the philosophy he described throughout his Sölden press conference.

The expansion also carries significant competitive implications. Five-time defending overall champion Marco Odermatt has built much of his success by collecting points across giant slalom, super-G and downhill. Adding another discipline could help Pinheiro Braathen narrow that advantage.

The Brazilian recognizes that one giant slalom victory does not determine a championship.

“The beauty with the overall is that it’s a fight across the whole season. It’s never won in one day.”

He understands that consistency will matter as much as spectacular performances.

“Every single point counts. Every race counts.”

Sunday’s victory established an excellent foundation. His planned move into super-G could provide another important piece of his overall World Cup challenge.

For Pinheiro Braathen, the pursuit of a championship and the excitement of exploring something new are not competing ambitions. They are increasingly part of the same journey.

A Team Built on Trust, Not Hierarchy

Another important part of Pinheiro Braathen’s transformation involves the people around him.

When questioned about his team’s structure, he rejected the idea that success comes from one individual directing everyone else.

“We don’t operate with hierarchy in our team. We’re a family, we’re an ecosystem, we’re a circle.”

Although each member has specific responsibilities, he emphasized that everyone contributes to his ability to perform.

He also expressed appreciation for the people who supported his unconventional return to racing.

“I could have never done this alone, and it’s always a collaboration, never a demand from my side.”

That philosophy helps explain why he repeatedly referred to the calm and trust surrounding his skiing.

His performance may be individual, but he sees the achievement as collective.

Beyond Medals: What His Olympic Gold Means for Brazil

Pinheiro Braathen also hopes his success carries meaning beyond the World Cup.

His Olympic victory made him the first Brazilian and first South American athlete to win a Winter Olympic medal. For a country without a traditional Alpine skiing background, the accomplishment challenged expectations about who can succeed in winter sports.

He hopes it encourages others to pursue unconventional ambitions.

“My goal has always been to bring change.”

He spoke about creating greater acceptance of differences and showing that there is more than one path to the top.

“I’m just trying to do it my way, encourage everyone out there to do it their way.”

His message to Brazilians was especially personal. If someone representing Brazil can become an Olympic champion in a snow sport, he believes others should feel empowered to pursue their own unlikely dreams.

Enjoy the Victory, Then Get Back to Work

For now, Pinheiro Braathen plans to celebrate.

Asked whether his giant slalom success would translate immediately to slalom, he avoided predictions.

“We will have to see.”

His immediate priority was considerably simpler.

“Right now my focus is on having a couple of beers with my friends and, you know, enjoy tonight, and then the slalom project starts tomorrow morning.”

The response captured the balance he described throughout the press conference.

He wants to win. He believes he can win the overall World Cup. And he understands the work required to challenge the sport’s best athletes.

But after achieving his Olympic dream, he also appears determined to enjoy the journey.

At Sölden, that combination of ambition, preparation and freedom produced another victory.

The season ahead will reveal just how far it can take him.

Reporting contribution: Ski Racing Media journalist Darka Sefcik Starnova provided on-site coverage and athlete interviews from Sölden, bringing firsthand perspectives to this report.

Source: Lucas Pinheiro Braathen’s October 25, 2026, post-race press conference in Sölden, recorded by Ski Racing Media.