Odermatt about Braathen’s dismissal: ‘Wouldn’t be surprised if he drives to Brazil soon’

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Sölden plays a very special role in the biography of Lucas Braathen (23). Three years ago, the Norwegian celebrated his first World Cup victory on the Rettenbach Glacier. Marco Odermatt (26) and Gino Caviezel (31) had to settle for second and third place. On Friday afternoon, the two Swiss had just moved into their double room in the mercenary aparthotel “Peter” when they were again surprised by the Viking with the brightly colored fingernails: the reigning winner of the Slalom World Cup announced his immediate resignation at a press conference. conference in the village center. And that at the age of 23.

“Postponing Joy and Dreams”

Fighting back tears, he explains this step, which is completely unexpected for his fellow campaigners: “To continue in this system, I have to postpone not only my dreams, but also my joy. I’m not willing to do that anymore.”

The brilliant technician from the Oslo region also lost his joy in skiing due to a heated dispute with the Norwegian Ski Federation (NSF). Braathen – like Henrik Kristoffersen (29) – was frustrated for a long time because he could not use the advertising space on the helmet with a personal sponsor. Instead, Norwegians must paste the association sponsor’s logo at this point. The final straw was Braathen’s involvement with the Swedish luxury sportswear manufacturer J. Lindeberg.

Athletes provoked

The association leadership reacted indignantly because the NSF had been equipped by “Helly Hansen”. “I am sorry that I had to stoop to the level of the association and treat those responsible as they have treated us athletes for years. We were treated completely disrespectfully and we were extremely provoked.”

A few minutes after Braathen announced his retirement, Gino Caviezel became the first ski racer to say what most people are thinking: “I’m pretty sure Lucas will announce his retirement next winter.”

Odermatt agrees with his housemate: “It wouldn’t surprise me if Braathen goes to Brazil next winter. The Brazilian association certainly wouldn’t mind if they brought clothing from J. Lindeberg and Red Bull as sponsors.

Odermatt’s idea makes perfect sense. Because: Braathen has dual Norwegian-Brazilian nationality because his mother is from South America.

As Atomic’s race director, Christian Höflehner is one of Braathen’s closest confidantes. The Austrian also does not rule out that the “Satansbraathen” will resign. “At the moment, Lucas answers the question whether he is thinking of a comeback for Brazil with a clear no. But I can imagine that he will start thinking about a comeback with some distance. I would be happy with such a change of mind, because our sport desperately needs guys like Lucas.”

AJ Ginnis (28), vice world champion in slalom, proved that you can also be successful as a representative of an exotic skiing association when he moved from the US to Greece.

Source : Blick