The last day of competitions at the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing (China) held strong emotions for the Brazilian delegation and especially the 42-year-old bobsled rider Edson Bindilatti from Bahia. He had already announced that he would retire at the end of the participation and fulfilled the mission remarkably. Along with colleagues Edson Martins, Erick Vianna and Rafael Souza in the 4-Man race (quartets), he was one of those responsible for taking Brazil to the Olympic final of the race for the first time in history. The green-and-yellow team reached the 20th place.
IT’S HISTORIC! WE ARE IN THE FINAL!?
?? will compete for the first time in history in the final descent of the #bobsled 4-man us @Olympic Games!
After the three heats, we are in 20th!
YOU ARE BRAVES! ?
? Wander Roberto /@ANOC_Olympic pic.twitter.com/TT0JLpfv1z
— Team Brazil (@timebrasil) February 20, 2022
At the end of the race – and his career -, Bindilatti said he had a feeling of accomplishment for finally having achieved a place among the 20 best sleds of the Olympic Games in his fifth participation in the Olympics. He has been in Salt Lake City (2002), Turin (2006), Sochi (2014) and Pyeongchang (2018).
“It took many years of work, dedication, a lot of struggle. That’s what Brazil is, it’s a big thing. We had a lot of difficulties to get here, but I just have to thank you because we focused on results, evolution, on growing, we didn’t regret it” , opined the athlete in a statement given to the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB).
In this Sunday’s race (20), the Brazilian team sought to crown the career of its most experienced member with the unprecedented result. The day before, in the first two descents, Brazil had managed to be among the 20 best times – which advance to the final and make a fourth descent – in both opportunities, registering 16th and 20th place, respectively.
However, on the third descent, on Sunday, the Brazilians had the 23rd best time among the 28 participating sleds. After some apprehension about whether or not to confirm the spot, Brazil finally breathed a sigh of relief with the good news: the Brazilian bobsled for the first time advanced to the final.
HE IS THE LEGEND!??
Edson Bindilatti, 20 years after his debut in @Olympic Gamesends his career with the greatest glory of the #bobsled of Brazil: the Olympic final in #Beijing2022 !
Put ?? in the top 20 of ?!
Just thanks!??
?Alexandre Castello Branco/COB pic.twitter.com/tKc5TjYeze
— Team Brazil (@timebrasil) February 20, 2022
In the final descent, the country quartet had the 16th best time, ending the participation with the 20th place in the overall performance.
“It was beautiful because reaching the age of 42 in high performance and reaching an Olympic final, shows that if you have the goal, have dedication, one day it will work”, declared Bindilatti.
The expressive result was dedicated to former teammate Odirlei Pessoni, who died in March 2021, victim of a motorcycle accident. He was part of the team preparing for Beijing. Pessoni participated in the Sochi and Pyeongchang Games. Rafael Souza took Pessoni’s place in China.
“After the third run, we had to motivate ourselves again. We remember that he was the guy who always cheered up the team and we all said: come on, it’s for him too. And we managed to make a better fourth run”, added Souza.
