Between Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona and Pele, the continent of South America has contributed some of the greatest athletes in human history. It is staggering to consider that no South American athlete has ever won a medal at any rendition of the Winter Olympics.

That could all change with Lucas Pinheiro Braathen. The 25-year-old faces a great opportunity to become the first South American and Brazilian to ever win a medal at the Winter Olympics. Braathen is a legitimate medal prospect in Alpine skiing, having won six World Cup events in his career. Five of those victories came while representing his birth nation (Norway) and most recently he won for Brazil at the 2025 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup.

That World Cup race marked the first time a Brazilian (or any South American) has ever won an Alpine skiing World Cup event.

Braathen, who was born in Oslo, retired young from Team Norway at 23 after a contentious back-and-forth with the Norwegian Ski Federation surrounding marketing and sponsorship concerns. On March 7, 2024, only five months after his retirement, he announced that he would return to competition to represent his mother’s homeland, Brazil.

"Norway taught me how to be an athlete, how to brave the cold. Brazil taught me how to be myself," Braathen told reporters at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Friday, Feb. 6.

He returned to racing for the first time in October 2024, and a year later he can call himself a World Cup champion. Despite his dominance at the World Cup level, he has yet to win an Olympic medal. In Italy competing at his second Olympic Games — and his first representing Brazil — Braathen looks to win the first-ever medal at any Winter Olympics by an athlete from South America.

Braathen is a medal candidate in both the slalom and giant slalom disciplines. He has won multiple World Cup races in each event. His main competitors in the slalom include his former countryman Atle Lie McGrath and France’s Clement Noel, while in the giant slalom he will face strong competition from Switzerland’s duo of Marco Odermatt and Loic Meillard. The competition is fierce in both disciplines, but Braathen has proven he can win at the World Cup level, and his rivals will view him as a serious contender.

The men’s giant slalom final Run 1 is scheduled for Feb. 14 at 4 a.m. ET with Run 2 coming later at 7:30 a.m. ET. The men’s slalom final Run 1 is scheduled for Feb. 16 at 4 a.m. ET with Run 2 set for 7:30 a.m. ET.