– We think Lucas is the type of athlete who can change an entire nation’s feeling for sport, says Brazil’s alpine manager Pedro Cavazzoni to news. – He can build a long-lasting legacy for skiing and reshape snow sports in Brazil in a way that very few have done before him, he continues. On Thursday, Braathen talked about his way back as an alpine skier, and he began the press conference in Salzburg by speaking Portuguese. – We are here today because I am returning to skiing to represent Brazil. I want to show that everything is possible, Braathen said in Brazil’s official language. – I am optimistic, passionate and proud to be able to represent Brazil in the World Cup, the Olympics and the World Cup, the Norwegian continued in Portuguese, before he later repeated it in English: Cavazzoni says that he is very happy that Lucas Braathen, who has a Brazilian mother and middle name Pinheiro, has chosen to drive for Brazil. – He is a world-class alpine skier who has great potential to do great things and leave a significant mark in the skiing world – and not least for Brazilian snow sports, says the Brazilian alpine manager. – His talent combined with his charisma has the potential to break all barriers for snow sports in Brazil, he continues. Also at the press conference in Austrian Salzburg was the Ski President in Brazil, Swede Anders Pettersson, who was also very positive about getting Braathen into his ranks. – I think that the number of followers (on Instagram) will increase. Brazil is a country that likes sports – regardless of whether it’s summer or winter. If there is a Brazilian who is capable, he will always get support from the Brazilian population, says Pettersson to news. NEW TEAM: Lucas Braathen (left) embraces Brazil’s ski president Anders Pettersson during the press conference in Salzburg. Photo: BARBARA GINDL / AFP Neymar comparison Brazil has had many legendary athletes throughout history, especially in the national sport of football. One of them is football star Neymar, who has played for Barcelona and PSG, among others. – Can he become skiing’s Neymar? – Why not, says Pettersson and laughs. BRAZIL’S SUPERSTAR: Neymar. Photo: ADRIANO MACHADO / Reuters – A lot is possible. He has the unusual combination of being both charismatic and a skilled alpinist. Brazilians like it. It is a perfect combination, he continues. Lack of attention news is in place in South America and has spoken to several journalists in the biggest newspapers in Brazil. – To be completely honest, winter sports don’t get the same attention here as other sports do, says Vitor Seta, sports journalist at O Globo to news. – It is understandable in view of the tropical weather, he reasons. Brazil has never won a medal in the Winter Olympics, but has a bronze medal from snowboarding in the Youth Olympics. – Of course we expect good results, perhaps Brazil’s first medal in the senior class? Seta asks rhetorically. READY TO COVER THE BRAAT: Brazilian sports journalist Vitor Seta. Photo: Ana Branco/O Globo – But personally, I think the most important thing is how a superstar like Lucas can help us develop our skiing sport. It’s about reaching new levels in training, getting more structure, public attention and developing young talent, he says. Since Brazil has no snow, wealthy Brazilians fly to Valle Nevado in Chile, Bariloche in Argentina or Aspen in the US to ski. “Ultimately, a good result from him is a quick way to ignite the Brazilian passion for a sport,” says Seta, pointing to how skateboarder Rayssa Leal (16) made her sport more popular after winning silver in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021. Single-digit track record The first time Brazil fielded an athlete in the Winter Olympics was in 1992. – It seems that winter sports are growing, and the Youth Olympics in Gangwon is an example of that, says Vitor Seta. There, Brazil won its first ever medal in winter sports, when the 17-year-old snowboarder Zion Bethonico ended up with the bronze medal. BRAZILIAN WINTER MEDAL: Bronze winner Zion Bethonico (right) on the podium at the Youth Olympics in January. The gold went to French Jonas Chollet (centre), while Anthony Shelly from Canada took silver. Photo: Ahn Young-joon / AP In addition, Brazil did well in the luge disciplines bobsled and skeleton, and in short track races on ice skates. That, as well as Lucas Braathen’s move to Brazil, has taken interest in winter sports to a new height, Seta believes. “This is just the beginning,” promises the Brazilian Snow Sports Confederation, “Confederação Brasileira de Desportos na Neve” (CBDN) on Instagram. – I think this can lift Brazilian winter sports. If Lucas Braathen wins gold in the Olympics or a World Cup, winter sports will probably become much more well-known in Brazil, says Flávio Dilascio, a journalist in Globo’s sports department, which is the largest in sports news in Brazil. In an interview in the newspaper on Wednesday, Braathen himself said that he feels joy and love at having to represent Brazil. IN THE WINTER OLYMPICS: Sports journalist Flávio Dilascio in the sports section of the TV channel Globo believes Lucas Braathen can make winter sports much more popular in Brazil. Here Dilascio is in place, covering curling during the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. Photo: Private – The bronze in Gangwon hasn’t had a big impact in Brazil, but it was a wake-up call. The country can develop in winter sports if it invests in our athletes, says Dilasci. – This is a big step on the way for us to develop. Brazil needs top-level athletes to become strong in international winter sports, says the sports journalist.
ttn-69
Think Braathen will become a star in Brazil:
