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10/25 05:20 CDT Brazil's Olympic ski champion Pinheiro Braathen poised for win
with 1st-run lead at season opener
Brazil's Olympic ski champion Pinheiro Braathen poised for win with 1st-run
lead at season opener
SLDEN, Austria (AP) --- Brazilian Olympic champion Lucas Pinheiro Braathen led
the opening run of the season-opening World Cup giant slalom on Sunday and was
poised to extend his winning streak in the discipline to four races.
The Norwegian-born Pinheiro Braathen, who at last season's Milan Cortina Games
earned South America its first medal at a Winter Olympics, stood 0.24 seconds
ahead of Olympic slalom champion Loic Meillard and 0.49 ahead of Stefan
Brennsteiner.
After his run, Pinheiro Braathen blew a kiss to the crowd, which featured a
small group of spectators waving Brazilian flags.
Five-time defending overall champion Marco Odermatt stood fourth, 0.55 behind,
and Atle Lie McGrath was fifth, 0.64 behind.
The course was shortened due to strong winds on the upper portion of the
Rettenbach glacier and the race was held in difficult conditions.
Marco Schwarz lost control shortly into his run and went through a gate.
Lower-ranked skiers were still coming down the course.
Pinheiro Braathen is unbeaten in giant slalom since his Olympic breakthrough,
having also won the final two World Cup GS races last season to seal the
season-long discipline title. He switched nationalities two years ago to
represent his mother's home country.
Pineheiro Braathen's slalom victory in Levi, Finland, nearly a year ago was
Brazil's first World Cup victory in Alpine skiing.
On Saturday, Paula Moltzan claimed her first career World Cup victory in the
women's opener; while Mikaela Shiffrin finished seventh.
___
See AP's full Alpine skiing coverage here
