Brazilian ski racer Lucas Pinheiro Braathen has turned in a powerful final run to win the Olympic giant slalom and earn South America’s first medal at a Winter Games.
In the last Olympics, the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, the U.S. went second-to-last as athletes paraded down the Seine River. The logic there was similar: Los Angeles is hosting the next summer Olympics in 2028.
There are 206 National Olympic Committees worldwide, which are devised by the IOC and the International Sport Federation. These two organizations are the sole authorities who come together to recognize NOCs for the official Summer and Winter Games.