Brazilian Twins Follow Olympic Gold Winner Into Ski Racing

When Lucas Pinheiro Braathen crossed the finish line at Milano Cortina 2026, he didn't just win Brazil's first Olympic gold medal in alpine skiing. He showed two young twins exactly what dreams could look like on snow.

Carlotta and Leopoldo Pignaton Fagnani, now 16, first strapped on skis at age 3 in Italy's Dolomite Mountains. Their grandfather would joke about them one day forming a Brazilian ski team and competing at the Olympics, but nobody took it seriously.

"At the time, it was nothing more than a family joke," their mother Maria Brunella Pignaton said. "We never imagined this little joke could eventually evolve into something where they would actually compete internationally representing Brazil."

Everything changed in 2019 when the twins entered their first race without any formal training. They loved it so much that skiing transformed from vacation fun into serious pursuit.

Their mother, who had no skiing background, researched development pathways and eventually stopped working to support the twins full time. The family designed custom Brazilian uniforms featuring jaguars and toucans, and in 2022, Carlotta and Leopoldo began racing internationally for Brazil.

Years before his Olympic triumph, Pinheiro Braathen noticed the young racers. His father sent them shin guards featuring the Brazilian flag as a gift, and later, they met him on the slopes in Sölden.

"Every time they met him, he was extremely kind, polite and generous," Pignaton said. He shared how his team operated and what elite skiing actually requires, giving the twins a roadmap for their own dreams.

For former Olympic skier Marcello "Lelo" Apovian, who represented Brazil at the 1992 Albertville Games and now calls races for Brazilian audiences, watching Pinheiro Braathen win gold brought decades of sacrifice full circle. "When he crossed the finish line and I realized he had won Olympic gold, I broke down in tears," Apovian said.

The Ripple Effect

Pinheiro Braathen's victory didn't just put Brazil on the winter sports map. It transformed what an entire generation of young Brazilian athletes could imagine for themselves, proving that geography doesn't have to limit dreams.

The twins continue training across Switzerland, Italy, France and Andorra, building skills and experience one gate at a time. What started as a grandfather's playful joke has become a family's dedicated pursuit of excellence.

Now the next chapter of Brazil's alpine skiing story is being written by two teenagers who watched history happen and decided they wanted to make some of their own.