"On Saturday, Brazilian downhill skier Lucas Pinheiro Braathen edged out Swiss superstar Marco Odermatt to win Olympic gold in the men's giant slalom. Just like that, the most incredible streak in the history of the Winter Games was over. Not only is Pinheiro Braathen's gold the first Winter Olympics medal of any sort that Brazil has ever won, it's the first medal that any South American nation has brought home from the Winter Olympics."
"But let's not forget that there are plenty of cold, mountainous areas in South America, too. There's even a famous outdoor clothing company named after a mountainous region shared by Chile and Argentina! (You guessed it: Eddie Bauer.) There's plenty of skiing in Patagonia, and as mountain ranges go, the Andes put the Alps to shame. You'd think that some South American skier or snowboarder would have at least snagged a bronze medal at some point between 1924 and literally today."
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen beat Marco Odermatt to win Olympic gold in the men's giant slalom. The gold marks the first Winter Olympics medal ever for Brazil and the first Winter Games medal for any South American nation. South American athletes have attended the Winter Games for nearly a century despite abundant cold, mountainous regions and ski areas in places such as Patagonia and the Andes. The Andes exceed the Alps in scale. Historical near-misses include an Argentine five-man bobsled team finishing fourth at St. Moritz in 1928 by 0.7 seconds, and another Argentine team finishing fifth that year.
Read at Slate Magazine
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