The Braathen madness: “I was already on the way home”

Joy and suffering are often very closely related. On Sunday it must have been – thumbs up – ten meters. After Henrik Kristoffersen, the half-time leader of the Wengen slalom, had threaded a few poles before the end and thus gave up a certain victory, he stood for minutes at the finish and looked at the slope in disbelief. You somehow had the feeling that he didn't want to turn around. Behind him, his young compatriot Lucas Braathen was being celebrated by the fans - but he couldn't quite believe what he had just achieved. From 29th place in the first round, the super talent jumped up to first place and took his second World Cup victory.

There has never been such a quantum leap in the history of the Slalom World Cup. “I have no idea what happened,” Braathen said later in the interviews, still completely at a loss. “Winning a race with number 29 – that’s just crazy.” In an interview with ORF, the 21-year-old explained: “I had a good feeling in the second round. That was fast, that was stable. A top 5 place would have been crazy, as would a top 10 place. I don’t know what to say.” Of all people, Lucas Braathen Curious: Braathen had already checked off the race after the first run. “I was already on my way home. Then a trainer came to me and said: 'No, no, you still have to drive in the second round.' I thought I wasn't qualified at all.” In fact, the Norwegian with Brazilian roots only managed to qualify for the decision by a measly six hundredths of a second. However, he then conjured up a dream run in the snow and also benefited from the fact that the slope became more difficult to ski with each runner.

Braathen of all places, some might think. The Norwegian had already been the focus of attention last week: when he turned into the finish slope in the giant slalom in Adelboden, he suddenly braked and ended his race . He later said with remarkable honesty: “I was very afraid of the finish slope.” A year ago he suffered a serious knee injury here. Now the youngster has written skiing history – and says, referring to the Adelboden giant slalom a week ago: “That was a good revenge.”

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The Braathen madness: “I was already on the way home”

Lucas Braathen scored a historic victory in Wengen on Sunday. Afterwards the Norwegian could hardly believe his luck.

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