THE FUSE

The Winter Olympics in three epic moments. Breezy Johnson returned to her 2022 crash slope and won GOLD, with a surprise proposal. Lucas Braathen made history for Brazil. Eileen Gu shut down critics.

It’s almost curtains for the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, and what a two weeks it’s been. There’ve been victorious comebacks, surprise proposals, and an iconic first win for country and continent. 🥹

Let’s start with the fairytale stuff.

American alpine skier Breezy Johnson didn’t make the last Winter Olympics in Beijing back in 2022. A serious training crash in Italy just weeks before the Games forced her to withdraw. Fast-forward to Tuesday, and Johnson returned to the very same slope that saw her crash out four years ago, this time taking GOLD. And just in case that wasn’t cinematic enough, her boyfriend surprised her with a proposal at the finish line. The internet debated whether he was stealing her shine. But Johnson called it “everything I dreamed of”.

Then came history.

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen earned Brazil and South America their first-ever Winter Olympic medal in any sport and gender. And look, we’re taking it too on behalf of the snow-deprived Southern Hemisphere. 😅 Braathen has also had quite the journey. He retired from racing in 2023, switched national allegiances from Norway to Brazil and then went on to win Brazil’s first-ever Alpine skiing World Cup victory in 2025. Most of South Africa’s five-person Winter Olympics team were also born or raised in the Northern Hemisphere, but chose to represent South Africa thanks to Saffa parents. Alas, Team SA didn’t podium, though it was our largest delegation ever.

A special shout to Eileen Gu shutting down a reporter who seemed to suggest her two silver medals were an underachievement. The San Francisco-born skier, who represents China internationally, entered the Games with tons of pressure after winning two gold medals and a silver at the 2022 Olympics. The two silver medals she added to her collection in these games make her the most decorated female freestyle skier in Olympic history. But during a press conference, a reporter asked: “Do you see these as two silvers gained or two golds lost?”

Gu wasted no time in answering with a perfect response: “I’m the most decorated female freeskier in history. I think that’s an answer in and of itself”. 🔥

As the Games come to an end, it’s Norway that once again tops the medal table, as they did in 2022, with 33 medals, including 15 golds. And maybe it’s that home-ground advantage, but Italy is currently sitting second on the table, with nine golds and 26 medals.

Winter sports may feel far from Mzansi’s summer, but the drama? Very relatable.