Lucas Braathen's Gold and Nicole Silveira’s Record Mark Brazil's Historic Winter Olympics Milestones

Brazil has marked an unprecedented chapter in Winter Olympics history at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games with two historic athletic breakthroughs. Lucas Pinheiro Braathen claimed Brazil’s first-ever Winter Olympic gold medal by winning the giant slalom event, becoming the first South American to achieve such a feat and breaking a 98-year-old continental record. Alongside him, Nicole Silveira set a new personal and national record in the skeleton event, finishing 11th — the best performance in Brazil's history for ice sports.

Braathen, who is 25 years old and ranked second worldwide in alpine skiing, has a unique background as the son of a Brazilian mother and Norwegian father. Despite training in Norway and earlier competing there, he chose to represent Brazil after disputes with the Norwegian federation. His gold medal surpasses the previous best South American Winter Olympic result — a fourth place by the Argentine bobsled team in 1928 — and the best individual Brazilian result, previously held by Isabel Clark's ninth place finish in the 2006 snowboard cross.

The Norwegian media heralded Braathen's victory as "absolutely incredible," with commentator Kjetil André Aamodt expressing regret that the athlete does not compete for Norway. Braathen’s success is expected to boost interest in winter sports in Brazil, particularly inspiring youth engagement, as indoor ice sports such as curling and ice hockey gain popularity, especially in cities like São Paulo.

Meanwhile, Nicole Silveira made history for Brazil in ice sports by finishing 11th in skeleton with a total time of 3:51.82 across four runs, improving from her 13th place at the 2022 Beijing Games. Her performance ranks as the third-best Winter Olympics showing for a Brazilian athlete after Braathen’s gold and Clark’s previous record. Silveira’s husband, Kim Meylemans, the reigning world champion, placed seventh in the event.

Silveira’s feat highlights the growing presence of Brazil in ice sports, an area traditionally outside the nation's climatic and sporting strengths. The skeleton event sees athletes speeding down icy tracks at over 140 km/h, underscoring the high level of competition faced.

Together, Braathen’s and Silveira’s achievements symbolize a breakthrough for Brazil and South America on winter’s grandest stage, promising to inspire future generations and expand the country’s winter sports culture beyond its traditional summer-dominated legacy.