Braathen about his sudden dismissal: “I realized that I was actually unhappy”

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It has been almost three months since Lucas Braathen (23) announced his immediate resignation a few days before the start of the ski season. “For the first time in years I feel free,” the Norwegian technology specialist said at the time.

The decision came after a long process. “It kept getting worse for me,” Braathen reflects in the “Krone”. “At a certain point I discovered that I absolutely could not continue like this and that I needed a drastic change to find my happiness again.”

The love for skiing was there until the end, but he no longer felt comfortable in the system. “I realized that I’m actually quite unhappy,” says Braathen. Even though he started skiing ‘because it made me the happiest person in the world’.

Not all goals achieved

But this happiness has been lost. He failed to achieve all three goals he pursued. Braathen not only wanted to become the best skier in the world, but also wanted to give back to skiing and make an impact outside the sport. “I’ve always tried to go my own way, I’ve always tried to follow my goals, I’ve always tried never to follow other people’s recipes. But I couldn’t achieve my third goal in this system, so I had to get out,” Braathen explains.

He has thought a lot about how to communicate his resignation. He informed the Norwegian association via text message shortly before the press conference. He visited the sponsors and traveled through Europe for ten days. He also personally informed his teammates. “We all sat together in the hotel room and cried – it was so horrible and yet so beautiful.”

Family visited

Still, the period immediately after his resignation made him nervous; he was afraid he would regret it. That was unfounded. “I feel better every day,” he says, and has used the ski time off to travel to visit relatives in Norway and Brazil.

Now he is back at the World Cup – albeit on the other side. On Sunday he will follow the Kitzbüheler Slalom live on location. Although he has mixed feelings, he will loudly cheer for any athlete who puts on a show. (beer)

Source : Blick