FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup on the Avet slope in Soldeu, Grandvalira, 19 March 2023 Lucas Braathen (NOR) with the Small Crystal Globe trophy awarded by the FIS to the winner of the 2023 Men's Slalom World Cup. / Wikimedia commons

Every Olympic is unique in its own way. So is Milano Cortina. Of several records set aside and new milestones achieved, the 2026 edition of the Winter Olympics would go down in the annals of sports history for many of its firsts.

The foremost of these is the first-ever Winter Olympics medal going to South America. This was made possible by a Brazilian Alpine Skiing star, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen.

Brazil may be famous both for its beaches and soccer. But one man has just engraved the football-crazy country’s name in snow at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. He is Lucas Pinheiro Braathen. The 25-year-old, born in Oslo to a Norwegian father, Björn Braathen and Brazilian mother Alessandra Pinheiro De Castro Braathen, won Brazil’s first-ever Winter Olympics medal in the alpine skiing men's giant slalom competition on Feb. 14. And the medal he won is a gold medal.  

Incidentally, he switched from Norway to the birth country of his mother two years ago. 

 The 2026 Games also have some special guests. When the Winter Olympics rolled into Milano Cortina 2026, it was not only the athletes competing in the greatest theatre of sport that demanded attention. The who's who of international sport, music, fashion and film turned their gaze to the best of the best on ice and snow.

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Two years after shining at the Summer Olympics, G.O.A.Ts of their respective trades, such as Novak Djokovic and Simone Biles turned heads on the sidelines. Serbian tennis legend and Olympic champion Djokovic, fresh off his run to the Australian Open final, was spotted with his wife Jelena, watching the figure skating team event.

Djokovic watched in amazement as U.S. superstar and ‘Quad God’ Ilia Malinin mesmerised the audience during his routine during the team event. 

In a game-recognises-game moment, Djokovic gave Malinin a standing ovation after his free skate, which clinched the gold for Team USA. 

"I did see Djokovic. It's so unreal," Malinin said after his skate. "I heard that after I landed my backflip, he had his hands over his head. That's incredible. That's a once-in-a-lifetime moment: Seeing a famous tennis player watching my performance. I'm absolutely blown away."

The red-carpet gala at Milan's iconic La Scala opera house ahead of the Opening Ceremony attracted other global icons such as five-time Olympic speed skating gold medallist Bonnie Blair, Donatella Versace, Usher, and Stanley Tucci. 

Norway added two more golds on Feb. 14. Its team won the women’s 4x7.5km relay with Sweden and Finland finishing with silver and bronze, respectively. The second gold came in Biathlon in the women’s  7.5 km sprint, where Maren Kirkeeide beat the competition of two French opponents, Oceane Michelon and Lou Jeanmonnot.

USA landed its fifth gold of the games in women’s Dual Moguls small freestyle ski through Lemley Elizabeth. Her teammate Joelin Kauf took the bronze.

Austria’s  Janine Flock set aside the challenge of her two German opponents – Susanne Kreher and Jacqueline – to win her fourth gold for her country in the women’s skeleton event. Slovenia added a second gold to its tally through Domen Prevc in the men’s ski jumping in the LH individual event, where Ren Nikaido of Japan took the silver, while bronze went to Kacper of Poland.

Coming back to the Brazilian Alpine Skiing icon, in a media interaction after his victory, an emotional Pinheiro Braathen received a congratulatory phone call from Italian skiing legend Alberto Tomba. "Lucas, bravo! Congratulations!" Tomba exclaimed over the phone. "Gold medal for Brazil, can you imagine?" In tears, Pinheiro Braathen replied "no". And Tomba said: "You cry like me, you are the best!"

Pinheiro Braathen set the tone for gold when he delivered a breathtaking opening run of 1:13.92. And though he was 11th in the second run with 1:11.08, his total time of 2:25.00 secured the Olympic title. The Swiss duo of Marco Odermatt (2:25.58) and Loic Meillard (2:26.17) secured silver and bronze, respectively.

“I'm not even able to grasp reality, as I stand here right now,” Pinheiro Braathen said after the event. “I am just trying to get some sort of emotion here and translate it into words, even though it's absolutely impossible.”

On what the medal might mean for the people of Brazil, he added: “I hope I can inspire some kids out there that, despite what they wear, despite how they look, despite where they come from, they can follow their own dreams and be who they really are. Because that is the real source of happiness in life.”

Pinheiro Braathen, who recorded Did Not Finish (DNFs) in the slalom and giant slalom when he represented Norway at his maiden Olympics in Beijing in 2022, shot to prominence when he secured Brazil’s first World Cup podium finish in December 2024 and celebrated with a samba dance on the podium. He has since racked up 10 World Cup podium finishes under his new flag, including the country's first victory this season. And has now added an Olympic title, a first Winter Olympics medal for any South American country.

Pinheiro Braathen had raced for Norway until abruptly retiring on the eve of the new season in 2023, then he returned to competition after switching his allegiance to Brazil in June 2024. He is always proud of his cultural duality and believes it is what has shaped him into who he is today. The 25-year-old athlete speaks both Portuguese and Norwegian and has a Brazilian girlfriend, actress Isadora Cruz.

Before Lucas Pinheiro's achievement, Brazil's best result in the Winter Olympic Games was Isabel Clark's 9th place in snowboard cross at the Turin 2006 edition. 

Meanwhile, Canada, though still without a gold medal, has some consolation as its women’s ice hockey team became the first to enter the semis. And Laurent Dubreuil is also back on the Olympic podium after a gritty performance on Feb. 14.

The Canadian speedskater, who has been way off the pace in World Cup action this season, won bronze in the men’s 500 metres on Feb. 14. Dubreuil took the lead with five pairs to go when he posted an Olympic-record time of 34.26 seconds.

But three pairs later, American star and eventual gold medallist Jordan Stolz (33.77 seconds) and silver medallist Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands (33.88 seconds) both beat out Dubreuil.

Stolz and de Boo also won gold and silver, respectively, in the men’s 1,000 metres. Dubreuil was eighth.

The 33-year-old Dubreuil had won silver in the 1,000 metres at the 2022 Olympics and finished fourth in the 500 metres, missing out on bronze by just 0.03 seconds..

Dubreuil’s bronze is Canada’s eighth medal of the Olympics — three silver, five bronze.

It marks Canada’s first Olympic medal in the men’s 500 metres since Jeremy Wotherspoon won silver in 1998 in Nagano, Japan.

Dubreuil is an eight-time medallist (three gold, two silver, three bronze) at the World Single Distances Championships.

The defending champions, Canada, sounded an ominous warning with its 5-1 victory over Germany in its quarter-final clash. Inspirational Marie-Philip Poulin scored a record-equalling 18th goal at the Olympics.

Canada was in menacing form in defence of its title. It kept its hopes alive with a 5-1 win over Germany in its quarter-final clash.

The Canadians have been in fine fettle since their devastating group-stage 5-0 defeat by Team USA, handing them a shutout for the first time in their Olympic history. They roared into the quarter-final with a 5-0 thrashing of Finland before giving Germany similar treatment, conceding just one goal before marching into the semi-finals.

Canada’s inspirational captain, Marie-Philip Poulin, led from the front, making her return to the ice after sitting out the previous games due to injury.

Poulin scored a late goal in the third period for her 18^th goal at the Olympics to tie the all-time Canadian record with Hayley Wickenheiser. She became only the fourth woman to score in five Olympic tournaments. 

Their four goals came courtesy of five different players, with Brianne Jenner drawing first blood less than two minutes into the contest. Claire Thompson doubled Canada’s lead towards the end of the first period, sending a soft shot past the goalie (2-0). Blayre Turnbull was the only scorer for Canada in the second period, sending the puck into the back of the net in the 40^th minute for a commanding three-point lead. Franziska Feldmeier then made history shortly after the restart for the third period as the first German player to score against Canada at an international tournament. Poulin then landed and slotted Canada’s fifth goal of the game on the power play for a dominant win.

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