BORMIO, Italy, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen brought a dream gold medal within reach as he outclassed the opposition in the first leg of the men's giant slalom on Saturday to give himself a huge lead.
No athlete representing a South American country has ever won a Winter Olympics medal in any sport, but Norway-born Braathen is poised to put an end to that after going fastest by 0.95 seconds.
First of the 81 starters, the 25-year-old showman put down a smooth and error-free run through the 52 gates, and no one got remotely close to matching him on the overcast Stelvio course that was softened by mild conditions.
Only Swiss great Marco Odermatt came within a second and a half of Braathen's 1:13.92, the reigning Olympic champion leaking 0.95 seconds to leave his hopes of gold hanging by a thread heading into the second run later in the day.
Odermatt was tipped for multiple golds at the Milano Cortina Games, but he missed the downhill podium before winning a silver in team combined and a bronze in super-G.
Braathen, who raced for Norway at the Beijing Games but switched his allegiance to his mother's birth place in 2024, carried the Brazilian flag at the opening ceremony wearing an eye-catching outfit he said summoned the spirit of a superhero.
A colourful personality off the snow with fashion ranges and DJ appearances, he calls the race piste his stage and on Saturday he was dancing to a different tune to his rivals as he took huge chunks of time out of the world's elite.
"I'm just trying to be here and lower my nervous system," a relaxed-looking Pinheiro Braathen said in the finish area. "The second run will unfold and I'll be ready.
"I'm trying to create even more space for even better movements and more dancing in the second run."
FLYING BRAZILIAN
Swiss Loic Meillard was third-quickest, a remote 1.57 seconds down, while only three others were within two seconds of the flying Brazilian, who this season became the first skier representing the country to win a World Cup race.
Giant slalom world champion Raphael Haaser of Austria finished 3.54 seconds slower as skier after skier reached the bottom baffled by how much time they had lost.
Another favourite, Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen, who was 1.93 seconds down in sixth, described the gaps as 'comical'.
"I think (Pinheiro Braathen's) bib one was definitely not a disadvantage, probably. But it shouldn't be that much of a difference between one, two, three, four, five," he said.
Pinheiro Braathen, currently second in the World Cup standings behind Odermatt, already has one hand on a historic gold medal after his astonishing opening effort.
To put his run into perspective, in the 2018 Olympics giant slalom, five skiers were within one second of first-leg leader Marcel Hirscher and in 2022 there were nine in that range of Odermatt. Hirscher and Odermatt went on to win.
Pinheiro Braathen will be taking nothing for granted in the second leg though when the top 30 go in reverse order on a course that will be set by a Swiss official.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Ken Ferris)
