I wanted to be a soccer player

Lukas Braathen and his father Bjørn made a ten year plan when he was badly bitten by the Alpine bacillus when he was ten years old:

A nine-year plan to take your child to the top of the world in his favorite sport. On Sunday, he took the podium for the first time when he achieved his first World Cup victory.

– The plan was made the day I told my dad that I wanted to be the best in the world. Then he laughed a little, it was a little unlikely. I started skiing late and had invested a bit in soccer. But he said he had to try what he wanted, and then we made that plan and checked the status every year. The goal was for him to threaten the world top in alpine skiing towards the end. So I feel like I’m in my place, Braathen smiles at Dagbladet.

Brazilian half

Braathen’s mother is from Brazil. He says he hopes the family sat there last night and watched, and that he “gave them a little show.”

Perhaps it was the genes of the soccer nation Brazil that gave him the love of soccer. But to Dagbladet, he tells him that he has no regrets about the choice.

– I have a great love for football and. But I could never manage as a footballer. That’s what skiing was like. I need an individual sport, the blinds go down if I don’t get what I want. In football you can lose when others make mistakes, they didn’t let me sleep for a week after that, so it never happened. So in the end it turned alpine, says Braathen.

Proud

Dagbladet reaches out to a happy father and trains Bjørn Braathen over the phone after Sunday’s achievement.

– It’s … what should I say? I don’t think I’ve managed to take it all in yet. This is something we have believed in, and I would like to say it especially in the last 18-24 months. It has some qualities that make it realistic. It is surprising, but at the same time we have believed in him, says Bjørn Braathen to Dagbladet.

You think your child is especially strong mentally.

– It has to do with the fact that you are in a pressure situation and still manage to do what you are supposed to do when it comes. Maybe it’s a generational issue? You are a little less afraid to say what you want to say and to pressure yourself. I think he likes to go a little high on the field and say what goals he has, says Braathen.

He adds:

– Sometimes it can be misunderstood. He has said he will win everything, but that means he believes he has what it takes to be at the top of the podium when he does things well. For me, it’s about self-confidence, he says.

– Unbelievably good

His teammate Henrik Kristoffersen has reigned supreme as the supreme in slalom and giant slalom in recent years. He finished off the podium in Sölden, but smiles when Dagbladet asks if he feels pressure now that Braathen has shown what he is capable of.

– I put pressure on myself, whatever happens. But it starts early and develops early, so it has no limitations. Today it is incredibly good to win in Sölden, he drives with a lot of power for a 20 year old. I didn’t develop that early, not once. It is very impressive. Congratulations, it’s a great trip.

Former high altitude climber Tom Stiansen did not skimp on the good words after the achievement.

– He is very brave and has a lot of threat to himself. You go a long way with that. When you are also as good as him at skiing … he makes a big mistake before the floor, which probably loses a second and recovers. It’s raw, Tom Stiansen tells Dagbladet.