New Delhi, Feb. 17 -- With Brazil entering the joyous throes of Carnival, Alpine ski racer Lucas Pinheiro Braathen on Saturday gave it another reason to celebrate - an Olympic medal.

It was the first-ever medal at the Winter Games for any country in South America. And not just any medal: Gold.

The win for the 25-year-old known in Brazil as "O cara do ski" - the skiing dude - happened on the first full day of Carnival, the pre-Lenten party that fills city streets with revelers drinking and dancing to their hearts' content. Even if lots of ordinary Brazilians were more preoccupied with that bacchanal, Pinheiro Braathen's gold-medal glory bumped Carnival news from top spots on major news websites. It was another in a series of recent score...