Brazil’s ski star has two aims for the new season: top the podium — and learn his national anthem

By Canadian Press on September 26, 2025.

MILAN (AP) — Brazilian ski star Lucas Pinheiro Braathen has already shown the world he can dance, now he needs to brush up on his singing skills.

For the Norwegian-born Pinheiro Braathen admits he doesn’t actually know the Brazilian national anthem.

“I simply know how to dance, that’s my specialty,” Pinheiro Braathen joked in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday. “I think I need to (learn the anthem) with my ambitions, I’m tired of not having experienced the possibility of hearing that ring over the stadiums in the Alps.

“That is a moment that would bring me immense joy and I think it could serve as an inspiration to others and it’s about time that becomes reality and I don’t want to get caught red-handed.”

Pinheiro Braathen’s mother is Brazilian and his father is Norwegian. He had raced for Norway until abruptly retiring on the eve of the new season in 2023, only to come back a year later representing Brazil.

The 25-year-old likes to entertain. When he became the first Brazilian skier to finish on a World Cup podium he celebrated with a samba dance and Brazil’s flag wrapped around his waist.

That was last December, when he placed second in a giant slalom in Beaver Creek, Colorado, the fourth race into his comeback. Four more podiums followed last season but he failed to add to his previous five World Cup wins for Norway.

“I’m going to carry the flag to the top of that podium. And I’m not stopping until that is reality,” Pinheiro Braathen said. “And I had many chances last winter — I missed it by two hundredths of a second. And at several other occasions, there was a simple mistake that kept me away from hearing the national anthem sing all over the stadiums in the middle of the Alps.

“That time will come, and it’s coming soon. It would mean everything to me. Though, it’s not all about results. I think it is the story behind the results. I truly have the potential of inspiring someone out there. But in order to get that voice, you need to be exceptional. Winning is exceptional.”

Pinheiro Braathen is one of skiing’s most vibrant personalities, known for painting his fingernails and having a taste for fashion.

He has an apartment in Milan — Italy’s fashion capital, and one of the sites for next year’s Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics — and the interview took place during fashion week, two days before Pinheiro Braathen travels to Innsbruck to begin training for the new season in earnest.

“It’s about finding that contrast in the reality that I live most days of the year,” Pinheiro Braathen said. “Milan is also where several of my creative projects are based. I do a lot of designing, I do lot of the creative direction work that goes behind the projects … in this very city.

“It also is an aspect of the location being close to the mountains, being very accessible to do the travels that Alpine skiing demands. So it’s a holistic decision of how I can balance all of the interests in my life while still pursuing to become the best in skiing.”

The men’s World Cup season starts Oct. 26, with a giant slalom — one of Pinheiro Braathen’s specialties. The Olympics run from Feb. 6–22, with the men’s Alpine skiing events taking place in Bormio.

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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

Daniella Matar, The Associated Press