ADELBODEN, Switzerland (AP) — Lucas Braathen beat his childhood friend Atle Lie McGrath for the win in a World Cup slalom on Sunday to extend Norway’s dominating run in the discipline.
Sporting his trademark painted fingernails – mostly black with one yellow smile emoji – Braathen retained his first-run lead to finish 0.71 seconds ahead of McGrath. Linus Strasser of Germany was 0.92 back in third.
Braathen skied into the finish area and into the arms of McGrath who was waiting to congratulate him with an exuberant hug.
The 22-year-old Braathen’s fifth career World Cup win, and third in slalom, lifted him atop the season-long discipline standings.
Norwegian racers have now won seven of the eight men’s World Cup slaloms since the Beijing Olympics last February. Braathen and McGrath have two of those wins apiece.
Braathen, whose mother is Brazilian, also won the first slalom of the season last month at Val d’Isere, France.
Sunday’s race was run under heavy cloud cover with temperatures rising to 4 degrees Celsius (40 Fahrenheit) in the afternoon to continue the unusually warm winter in Europe.
The men’s World Cup circuit stays in Switzerland at nearby Wengen for a scheduled super-G on Friday, the classic Lauberhorn downhill Saturday and a Sunday slalom.