SOELDEN, Austria — World Cup slalom champion Lucas Braathen retired from his sport on Friday at the age of 23 in a surprise announcement by the Norwegian skier two days before the season starts.
Braathen said he made the decision a few weeks ago and that he was “happy” and “grateful for everything I have been through in my career,” adding he had informed his teammates only the evening before.
Braathen did not elaborate on the reasons for his move, though he got into a dispute with the Norwegian ski federation recently after doing modeling work for a rival brand of the federation’s clothing supplier.
In a video posted on his Instagram account, he said thanked his fans.
Braathen made his World Cup debut in 2018, with his breakthrough win coming two years later in the season-opening giant slalom in Soelden.
He won five World Cup races in total, including two slaloms last season, and had surgery for appendicitis just ahead of the world championships. He returned soon after and won the slalom discipline title.
Speaking to The Associated Press the day before his announcement, Braathen called winning the crystal globe last spring “definitely a season I will never forget. And I do also have to admit that I’m intrigued to see if I can ever make make a season any more special than that.”
Braathen said it’s been quite a journey since his first World Cup win three years ago.
“I can’t believe that I’ve got a globe back home in my apartment,” he said. “You know it’s been a representation of all the sacrifices and the tremendous amount of work and a lot of hard decision-making throughout my career in order to make that happen. I’m extremely, extremely proud of that.”
With the Norwegian leaving, skiing loses one of its most vibrant personalities. Son of a Norwegian father and a Brazilian mother, Braathen is known for painting his fingernails and having a taste for fashion, while he also has a line of jewelry for sale.
“Oh no, bro, we need your samba on the slopes,” Italian skier Christof Innerhofer commented on Braathen’s Instagram post.
Norwegian teammate and close friend Atle Lie McGrath wrote: “Always with you.”
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation regretted the decision of one of skiing’s most prolific competitors.
“Very bad news for us,” FIS men’s race director Markus Waldner said. “He was a race machine, but he was also a party guy, a colorful guy. We need those guys on the tour. Hopefully after some time he can solve the issues with his federation and he finds a way back. Our door is always open.”
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