MILAN, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen captured the men's giant slalom title at the Milan-Cortina Games on Saturday, marking South America's first-ever Winter Olympic medal, while Australia's Jakara Anthony won gold in the Olympic debut of women's dual moguls.
25-year-old Pinheiro Braathen posted a combined time of two minutes 25.00 seconds, finishing 0.58 seconds ahead of defending champion Marco Odermatt of Switzerland, who claimed silver. Odermatt's teammate Loic Meillard took bronze.
"At a stage like the Olympic Winter Games, there is no margin for safety," Pinheiro Braathen said. "You are on this limit, balancing between falls and good turns. I think it's the beauty of alpine skiing - so intense, so pure."
Born to a Norwegian-Brazilian family, Pinheiro Braathen previously represented Norway before a brief retirement and returned to competition in 2024 under the Brazilian flag. Overcome with emotion after seeing his winning time, he fell to the snow and later described hearing the national anthem as the pinnacle of his day.
"I must say the anthem is definitely an honorable moment. I didn't grow up as a skier; I grew up as a football player. That was my introduction to sports," he said. "I've tried over and over again to put words into what it is that I'm feeling, and that is simply impossible."
In the women's dual moguls, Anthony edged world champion Jaelin Kauf of the United States in the medal round, becoming the first Olympic champion in the head-to-head format.
American Elizabeth Lemley, champion in the singles event, claimed bronze despite a sore elbow, defeating France's Perrine Laffont.
"It's a really special one," Anthony said. "To turn it around from the disappointment of singles and come out with the performance I know I'm capable of - with my team behind me - that's what I'm most proud of."
Dutch short track speed skater Jens van't Wout finished in two minutes 12.219 seconds in the men's 1,500 meters, securing his second gold medal at these Games. Hwang Dae-heon of South Korea took silver, while Latvia's Roberts Kruzbergs came in third place.
China's Liu Shaoang and Sun Long both fell in the final, finishing seventh and eighth, respectively.
American speed skating star Jordan Stolz set another Olympic record in the men's 500m, clocking 33.77 seconds to claim his second gold medal of the Games, adding to his 1,000m victory on Wednesday. Dutch Jenning de Boo and Canadian Laurent Dubreuil won silver and bronze, respectively.
"Way less pressure. I really wanted to win the 1,000m, and after that I knew the environment, what to expect," Stolz said. "I was just thinking about the pushes, went through the whole race in my mind, and how I wanted to do it. I'm happy I pulled it off."
Elsewhere, Norwegian biathlete Maren Kirkeeide secured her first Olympic medal by winning the women's 7.5km sprint in 20 minutes and 40.8 seconds. France's Olympic debutant Oceane Michelon finished 3.8 seconds behind for silver, while her compatriot Lou Jeanmonnot took bronze.
Norway won the women's 4x7.5km relay in cross-country skiing, finishing in one hour, 15 minutes and 44.8 seconds. Sweden took silver, 50.9 seconds behind, and Finland secured bronze in 1:16:59.5.
Janine Flock won Austria's first Olympic gold medal in skeleton, also becoming the oldest women's Olympic skeleton champion. Germany's Susanne Kreher and Jacqueline Pfeifer took silver and bronze, respectively.
Slovenia's Domen Prevc came from behind to win gold in the men's large hill ski jumping, with Japan's Ren Nikaido earning silver, while Poland's Kacper Tomasiak took bronze.
"It is super amazing. All the emotions are rolling in my head now. When all the people say it is maybe impossible for you to do it, then you prove them wrong by winning a gold medal here at the Olympics," said Prevc.
