The slalom ace from Norway ends his break and returns to the racing slopes – under the Brazilian flag.
New flag, same passion: At the end of October, Lucas Braathen surprisingly announced his retirement from the Ski World Cup. The reason for this was disputes with the Norwegian Ski Association. Now he has announced his return at an appointment on Thursday in Salzburg (topic: “My future in ski racing”) – thanks to his Brazilian mother under the Brazilian flag.
“I’m returning to ski racing and I’m doing it for the country where I discovered my love for the sport,” said Braathen, talking about his roots in Sao Paolo, where he played football with his friends. “I grew up in an environment that was atypical for winter sports enthusiasts, and that shaped me. And that’s exactly what I want to stand for: acceptance of a multicultural background and diversity in the conservative sports community. That you can achieve anything, no matter who you are or where you come from.”
The man from Oslo has won five World Cup races so far, his greatest success was winning the slalom discipline classification in the winter of 2022/23. Before the start of the current World Cup season, Braathen had a falling out with the Norwegian Ski Association. The background was the association’s rather restrictive interpretation of personal and marketing rights. The conflict was sparked by the fact that Braathen had advertised for a clothing company without permission from the Norges Skiforbund.
Braathen, 23, is considered a bird of paradise in the ski circuit; during his time off he devoted more time to his fashion projects and appeared as a DJ. The necessary federation change necessary to be able to compete for the Brazilian Ski Federation (CBDN) has already been initiated, the Norwegian federation agreed, Braathen is allowed to keep his FIS points, so he can continue where he left off.
Brazil’s new ski star explained: “Not waking up every day and trying to be the best in the world at something was something I missed a lot. It’s a dream come true for me to have the chance to represent 200 million Brazilians at World Cups, World Championships and Olympic Games.” (joe)
Also cuts a fine figure off the piste: Lucas Braathen. Gepa
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