Oct 22 - Olympic champion Lucas Pinheiro Braathen believes the freedom to shape his own career has allowed him to rediscover why he became a skier after the pressures of elite competition drove him to retire at the age of 23.

Braathen, who left the sport in 2023 following a dispute with the Norwegian Ski Federation, returned representing Brazil and went on to win giant slalom gold at the Milano Cortina Games, becoming the country’s first Winter Olympic champion.

Ahead of the men’s Alpine World Cup opener in Soelden this weekend, the 26-year-old said creating an independent team had given him greater control over his sporting and commercial decisions.

“I put all the eggs in the basket of becoming the best ski racer in the world,” Braathen told Reuters in a video interview from Gurgl. “But the why was lost in that pursuit.”

Braathen won the World Cup slalom title in 2023 but announced his retirement later that year after falling out with the Norwegian federation.

He said he had faced a choice between continuing within a system that no longer reflected his ambitions and w.alking away from racing to pursue a life on his own terms.

“I could either continue skiing but put my own goals and dreams aside and be able to please the expectations of everyone around me, or I could pursue my true dream but put ski racing aside,” he said.

Braathen, who has a Brazilian mother and Norwegian father, announced his comeback in March 2024 and began competing for Brazil the following season.

SKIING IS A LIFESTYLE

His Olympic victory in February made him the first athlete from Brazil or any South American country to win a Winter Games medal. He later won last season’s giant slalom World Cup title and finished second in the overall standings.

Braathen said the control afforded by his own team also allowed him to treat commercial agreements as creative partnerships rather than conventional sponsorships.

“I don’t really approach any of my partnerships as sponsorships. I look at them as collaborations,” he said.

Atomic this week announced that it had extended its agreement with Braathen until 2030. He said his role included helping to develop equipment rather than simply endorsing the company’s products.

“For me, skiing is a lifestyle,” he said. “It’s a way of allowing people to find themselves and have an interaction with nature.”

Braathen said representing Brazil had also given his career a purpose beyond results, although he acknowledged that skiing remained beyond the reach of many people in the country.

He hopes his Olympic success can encourage Brazilians to pursue ambitions that might initially appear unrealistic and said he was working on sporting initiatives intended to create opportunities for young people.

“I hope that the fact that a Brazilian flag rose to the top of the Olympic podium covered in snow ... inspires and shows that Brazilians are truly capable of achieving whatever it is that they put their hearts and minds to,” he said.

“The harsh reality in Brazil is that many don’t have the possibility to be able to take part.” REUTERS