Many have been tuned in to the Winter Olympics and it seems as though the Games always bring equal measure of thrilling wins and heartbreaking losses. On the world’s largest stage, athletes often represent the hopes and dreams of their country and I was lucky enough to watch some history being made.

Taking some time to enjoy dinner and a night in front of the TV with friend and co-worker Michelle, we watched the USA men’s team play ice hockey and handle Denmark, then got thoroughly involved in watching the men’s giant slalom.

We came into it during the second of the two runs and it was snowing on the course. Forget the fact that neither of us know the first thing about slalom except that we can’t do it; we watched mesmerized as the skiers tackled the hill, twisted and turned their way through the gates and reached speeds of about 50 miles per hour.

We saw that a Brazilian athlete was on top of the leaderboard after the first run. Lucas Pinheiro Braathen was the final skier in the second round … Michelle and I watched as the skiers from Switzerland slowly knocked other countries off the top of the leaderboard until it was just Pinheiro Braathen left to go, with three Swiss skiers poised to sweep the medal ceremony. Pinheiro Braathen was there representing Brazil – his mother’s home country – and by the time he was at the starting gate, we knew to watch for the split times and see if he was ahead of or behind the pace of the overall leader. After having seen a short interview with him – as they often show during the Olympics prior to an athlete’s appearance in an event – both Michelle and I were rooting for him.

His race had us both on the edge of our seats, cheering, clapping, watching as he nearly lost his balance cutting one gate very close but then regaining his form … he had the lead early but it started to dwindle as he came down the mountain. We just weren’t sure … until they posted his time and he was the winner by a mere 0.58 seconds.

Michelle and I whooped and hollered, scaring her grandkids, who couldn’t figure out why we were being so loud and what all the fuss was about.

The fuss was he respected yet attacked the mountain and achieved the title of Olympic champion, and in the process, earned the first ever Winter Olympics medal for Brazil. History was made.

When his time was posted, he looked at it and realized what had happened; he fell over into the snow in what looked like a mix of elation and disbelief. He quickly got up and acknowledged the crowd and then was wrapped in a huge hug by his father, who also happens to be his coach. Michelle and I were practically sobbing for him, we were so happy. It got even better when he started to dance, his joy just couldn’t be contained.

Every athlete at the Olympics – winter and summer – has a story; a support team of family and friends, coaches and mentors, that help get them there. For those of us lucky enough to get a chance to watch some of them in action, it is the best TV viewing experience around. Give me real people, real emotions, real triumph and even the real defeats, which remind us that even elite athletes are human. It’s better than any ‘reality’ show could ever hope to be.

Marg Jackson is editor of The Oakdale Leader, The Escalon Times and The Riverbank News. She may be reached at mjackson@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 209-847-3021.