Bindilatti, holding the Brazilian flag, will compete in the Winter Olympics – Disclosure/CBDG
Edson Bindilatti, 46, from Bahia, is guaranteed the sixth Winter Olympics of his career. This Sunday (11), he commanded the Brazilian sled with four crew members, the so-called “4-man”, in winning fourth place in the Copa América bobsled, held in Lake Placid, in the United States. The green and yellow team were behind South Korea (gold), the hosts (silver) and Canada (bronze).
The performance also earned the Brazilian quartet a bronze medal in the Pan-American Championship of the sport, which only considers the results of teams from the continent. Thus, the sled driven by Bindilatti, which also brought together André Luiz da Silva and Edson Martins from São Paulo and Tauler Zatti from Santa Catarina, moved up one position in relation to the Copa América.
Last Saturday (10), Bindilatti and Tauler Zatti had already won silver in the sled event for two crew members, the “2-man”, at the Copa América, surpassed only by the Jamaican partnership. The result was also worth second place in the bobsled Pan.
With the weekend’s performance in Lake Placid, Brazil ensured, through the modality’s ranking, which considers results from the 4-men and 2-men, the classification of at least one sled, driven by Bindilatti, to this year’s Winter Olympics, in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina, between February 6th and 22nd. The remaining team members will be announced on January 19th.
Coming from athletics and with a background in decathlon, Edson Bindilatti came to bobsled in 2000. Since then, he has participated in six Winter Olympics, debuting in the 2002 edition, in Salt Lake City, in the United States. In 2025, the Bahian took the green and yellow sled to 13th place in the World Championship of the sport, in Lake Placid, the country’s best performance in history. The Milan and Cortina Games will be the Bahian’s last as a driver for the Brazilian team.
Brazil is still trying to qualify a second bobsled for the Olympics, driven by 24-year-old Gustavo Ferreira from São Paulo. This Sunday, the quartet led by him placed sixth in the Copa América in bobsled and fourth in the Pan, in the 4-man. In addition to the driver, the team brought together Davidson de Souza and Luiz Henrique Bacca from São Paulo and Rafael de Souza from Rio. On Saturday, Gustavo and Rafael finished 2-man in fourth.
The sled driven by Gustavo will still face the Innsbruck, Austria, stage of the Europa Cup, between the 14th and 18th of this month. The team led by Bindilatti will also be present at the event.
