Braathen brings Brazil its first Ski World Cup victory in Levi!

Braathen brings Brazil its first Ski World Cup victory in Levi!

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen created a historic moment in Brazilian winter sports in the Slalom in Levi on November 16, 2025. He won the first World Cup victory for Brazil in the history of skiing, 0.31 seconds ahead of last year's winner Clement Noel from France. Braathen, who played for Norway until last season, celebrated his victory for his mother's home country after a long break.

Finnish skier Eduard Hallberg celebrated his third place on the podium, ending the dry spell for Finland that had lasted since Kalle Palander's victory on December 16, 2007. He secured his first World Cup podium place, 0.57 seconds behind Braathen.

Austria's results

The best placings of the Austrian drivers went to Michael Matt, who finished in ninth place, 1.31 seconds behind. Fabio Gstrein followed in tenth place (+1.32 seconds) and Manuel Feller improved twelve positions to eleventh place (+1.40 seconds) in the second round with the second best time.

• Michael Matt: 9. Platz (+1,31 Sek.)
• Fabio Gstrein: 10. Platz (+1,32 Sek.)
• Manuel Feller: 11. Platz (+1,40 Sek.)
• Marco Schwarz: 19. Platz (+1,82 Sek.)
• Johannes Strolz: 24. Platz (+2,46 Sek.)

After the competition, Gstrein commented on his performance in the second round, where he fell behind due to mistakes. Matt, on the other hand, was quite happy with his improvement from 16th place and Feller drew attention with his strong second descent.

Female slalom and athlete feedback

Although the attention was on the men's slalom in Levi, the women's race was also notable, with American skier Mikaela Shiffrin celebrating her 102nd World Cup victory. German athlete Lena Dürr finished the race in fourth place and praised the performance of her compatriot Emma Aicher, who achieved her best slalom finish of her career with third place.

For Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, the victory was an emotional moment, which he celebrated properly in the finish area and fell to his knees. His achievement is seen as a historic milestone for Brazil, which motivates not only him, but also Brazilian winter athletes worldwide.

The next competition for the Austrian slalom men will take place on Saturday in Gurgl, while the women's slalom will compete in the same region on November 23rd. As n-tv.de reports, the coaches are very satisfied with the performance of their athletes. The results from Levi reinforce the positive trend shown by the athletes this season.

For Braathen, the first Brazilian to win a World Cup, this is an incentive to continue competing at the highest level and his success will be seen as an inspiration for generations to come. The joy of this historic victory will be felt in Brazil and will increase interest in skiing in the country, as quoted by vol.at.