'Fun day' for Olympic champion Braathen in giant slalom win / Photo: © AFP
-
Barcelona reach deal with Man City to sign Rodri
-
Amy Hunt bags fourth Euro gold as Britain win 4x100m mixed relay
-
Misery for Maresca as Man City make dismal start to life after Guardiola
-
Spanish soldier dies in Aragon wildfire: regional leader
-
Strikes kill 19 in Russia and Ukraine
-
Belgium's Pocognoli appointed new Scotland manager
-
Lula and Bolsonaro court women voters as Brazil election campaign kicks off
-
Marchand storms to second gold of European championships
-
Belgium races to tame huge wildfire creeping towards Germany
-
Kushner meets with Hamas in push to revive Gaza plan
-
Two dead, hundreds evacuated from fires on island near Athens
-
Villarreal battle back to earn draw at promoted Racing
-
Real Madrid crush Schalke in friendly as Diomande debuts
-
Odegaard says Arsenal 'want to win everything' after Community Shield success
-
Calls for UK inquiry into 'hounding' of ex-Cambridge academic
-
Arsenal rout Man City in Community Shield masterclass
-
Strikes kill 16 in Russia and Ukraine
-
Southampton mocked over Spygate during Watford defeat
-
Marchand tries for European swim gold in unfamiliar event
-
Hamas expects meeting with Kushner as US pushes Gaza plan
-
India's Padikkal steals the show with 167 in first Sri Lanka Test
-
Farmers, helicopters help battle record Belgian wildfire
-
Hollywood duo underline Premier League ambition for Wrexham
-
Air support kicks in as record Belgian wildfire jumps in size
-
India's Padikkal makes 167 in first Sri Lanka Test
-
Firefighters battle second day of blaze on Greek island
-
Hurricane Lala pulls away from Hawaii's Big Island
-
Strikes kill 12 in Russia and Ukraine
-
Petros, Vainio set new championship records to win Euro marathons
-
India's Sindhu backs monkey measures as badminton worlds set to open
-
Hurricane Lala brushes past Hawaii's Big Island, bringing heavy rain
-
Mass drone attack on Moscow as Russian strikes kill three in Ukraine
-
'Something we dreamed of': Bangladesh celebrates historic cricket win
-
Djokovic feels the heat in Cincinnati defeat, Zverev wins all-nighter
-
Rain holds up India on day two of Sri Lanka Test
-
Pallister stuns Ledecky in Pan Pacs 800m free as two world records carry Douglass to gold
-
The Ukrainian social media channels tracking Russian missiles
-
Rampant Bangladesh make history with first-ever Test win in Australia
-
Disney offers fans an escapist bubble at D23 event
-
UK's media-savvy PM Burnham shifts messaging to TikTok, podcasts
-
Thousands await aid after deadly Indonesian quake
-
Gay badminton star Gilmour urges progress on LGBTQ rights in Asia
-
Chinese ship sets off for Europe through Arctic, halving travel time
-
Pallister takes down Ledecky in Pan Pacs 800m freestyle
-
Bangladesh on verge of historic win in Australia as Mehidy takes five
-
Douglass breaks 50m free world record again to claim Pan Pacs gold
-
Messi sees penalty saved as Nashville routs Inter Miami in MLS
-
As Opel turns to Chinese partners, its hometown frets about the future
-
Heat is on as German winegrowers struggle to protect vines
-
Mehidy takes three as Bangladesh close on historic win in Australia
'Fun day' for Olympic champion Braathen in giant slalom win
Brazil's Olympic champion Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won the World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora on Saturday to close the gap on discipline leader Marco Odermatt.
The Norwegian-born Braathen, who claimed South America's first ever Winter Olympic gold medal, led after the first leg in Slovenia and delivered another solid run to beat Swiss skier Loic Meillard by 0.54 seconds.
Austria's Stefan Brennsteiner was 0.80sec back in third place and admitted that the sunny slopes were like "Brazilian weather" - something that went well with Braathen's finish area samba.
"The sun was out, spring is springing, the fans gave me amazing energy as per usual and I just felt like it today, my skiing felt like dancing so I thought I would pay a little tribute to it," said a happy Braathen after collecting his seventh World Cup win.
"What a fun day it has been. I am skiing with a lot of happiness, a lot of joy.
"The only thing I have been trying to do since the Olympics is enjoy it, while obviously trying to combine that with getting ready for some difficult last races with a lot on the line."
The 25-year-old had a 0.14 second lead over the field at the halfway stage and then sealed his win on a challenging course on the second run.
"It was really as different as it gets, it was borderline downhill the second run course," said Braathen who now has two wins, four podium places and five other top-five finishes in his 12 World Cup and Olympic races since mid-December.
"On the flat it didn't even turn for four or five consecutive gates. But this is what skiing is all about. Skiing is about showing you're fast on the straights and fast on the curvy and offset types of course and at the end of the day the guy that runs off with the globe, he's the best overall.
"I am very proud of today’s performance, I really am."
He has now pulled up to within 48 points of Odermatt in the giant slalom standings ahead of the season-ending finals in Norway at the end of the month.
Runaway overall World Cup leader Odermatt could only finish down in fifth after a patchy second run.
Meillard also remains in contention with one more giant slalom to come but is 89 points adrift of Odermatt.
K.Thomson--BTB
