The China Mail - Brazilian Olympic champion Braathen is his own man - and Norway's loss

His golden moment also underlined that he is Norway's loss.

The 25-year-old Braathen was born in Oslo to a Norwegian father and Brazilian mother, but spent time in South America as a child after his parents separated.

His father, who he describes as a ski bum, won custody and brought him back to Norway, where he took up ski racing at the age of eight.

The call of Brazil remained strong, however, with Braathen making yearly visits to the South American country from the age of 11. He was raised speaking both Norwegian and Portuguese.

After falling out with the Norwegian ski federation over sponsorship rights, Braathen stepped away from the World Cup circuit in the 2023-24 season before returning under the Brazilian flag in October 2024.

- Bring rock'n'roll -

"I'm not here to write history, to win, or to please anyone. I'm here to be who I am," he said after a first-ever World Cup win for Brazil in Levi in November.

Braathen named the reindeer he received for victory in the Finnish resort after the "very special person in my life", his father Bjorn.

Away from the slopes, Braathen has embraced media, DJing and also fashion.

"I want to bring rock'n'roll and modernise skiing," says Braathen, who has the phrase "Vamos dancar", or let's go dance, on his helmet.

"I'm an individualist. Always been. Always will be!"

With 443,000 followers on Instagram, Braathen is a regular at fashion weeks in Paris and Milan, and has also launched his own skincare product range.

Nails painted and dressing to shock, Braathen has come in for criticism for being "too feminine in a very masculine sport", with critics "asking if I'm gay or trans".

"Just because I do extreme sports, should I have to dress a certain way? That makes no sense," he told French sports daily L'Équipe.

Never one to miss a moment to shine, Braathen was the flag bearer for Brazil at these Games and stole the show at the San Siro stadium with a snow-white, calf-length jacket which he opened up to reveal the Brazilian flag on the interior.

- Need to step away -

Braathen represented Norway at the Beijing Games in 2022, but he failed to finish in either giant slalom or slalom.

A year later he won the World Cup crystal globe in the slalom as a prelude to his split with the Norwegian set-up.

"I reached a point where I felt I had lost the reason why I began skiing," he explained.

"I needed to step away. I needed time to be with myself, without a defined path or career to follow, before choosing my next direction."

Choosing to represent Brazil, he said, was "the start of the biggest project of my life", describing the country and its culture as "half of me".

Braathen made his World Cup debut in 2018 and his first victory on the circuit came in the giant slalom at the 2020-21 season opener in Soelden.

His win in Levi was the first ever by a skier representing Brazil. Hearing the anthem, he said: "This is a song that I've grown up hearing during the football games that inspired me to even start with sports.

"Now to be able to be the reason why that song gets played in an occasion of success, representing the same nation where I grew my love for sports, it truly feels like a full circle moment.

Having the chance to represent 200 million Brazilians "is a dream come true", he said.

But when the ski season is over, Braathen seeks out a world away from the sport "in order to come back motivated".

"Every day I spend with friends who have nothing to do with skiing makes me a better skier," he told the Red Bulletin magazine.

"Every day I can be myself, dress femininely, surf, skate or go to an exhibition is an experience that also helps me in my sport.

"My biggest goal is that I leave the sport with more diversity and more acceptance for difference."

A.Sun--ThChM