Edson Bindilatti faces his last mission in bobsleigh: training his replacement  

One of the main corporate mantras states that a good leader should always prepare someone to replace him in the future.

Edson Bindilatti doesn't wear a suit or work in an office. Still, he's living that mantra now with the Brazilian bobsled team, as he prepares to make his season debut in the pre-Olympic season, alongside another key mission: training his replacements.

At 45 years old, he has put retirement aside, and will once again pilot a Brazilian bobsled on the North American Cup this season. The first stages will be in Whistler, Canada, with races in the two-man event taking place on 22 and 23 November, and races in the four-man event on 25 and 26 November.

Bindilatti returns to the pilot's seat once more

After achieving an unprecedented top 20 finish at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, Bindilatti was willing to step down and make room for younger pilots, such as Gustavo Ferreira, who came in 13th at the Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020.

However, a change in the qualification system for bobsleigh at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, which will use the combined ranking for both events to determine qualification, rather than the individual ranking for the two-man and four-man events like in past editions, paired with the relative inexperience of young pilots in driving four-person sleds, led the national team to request the return of Bindilatti.

He accepted the challenge to seek his sixth Winter Olympic participation but with two conditions. The first: to achieve a new historic result on the Italian track, surpassing the 2022 campaign. The second: a desire to train the current crop of young pilots so that they can take over his position after Milano Cortina 2026.

“That is my biggest goal and my inspiration," he said in an exclusive interview with Olympics.com.

So much so, that Gustavo Ferreira will compete alongside him in the North American Cup, taking part in races to gain experience and attempting to qualify for the Olympic Games.

From 'soup lines' to personal best results: Bindilatti reflects on his career

Few professionals have as much experience in training their substitutes as Bindilatti. In 2025, he will celebrate his 25th season in the sport of bobsleigh, with plenty of wisdom to boot.

“It would make a big book, 500 pages or more, if I were to tell all the stories," he said, looking back at his experience in the sport.

Stories that include the 465km trips between New York and Lake Placid, USA - in a van with four other people and a 210kg sled that was over three meters long - or lining up in ‘soup lines’ at North American churches because there was little money for food and it was necessary to save.

But with his work on – and off – the ice, he changed the bobsleigh scene in Brazil over time.

Before the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, Bindilatti resumed the development of bobsleigh in his country, helping to set up a new team that gradually grew. He was the overall champion of the North American Cup in 2015 and 2018, reached 17th in the IBSF overall rankings in 2017 and achieved a long-awaited Olympic top 20 finish at Beijing 2022.

“It was a very beautiful career, in my opinion, with a lot of dedication, commitment and resilience. We went through a lot in bobsled and I was part of a reconstruction, or rather, a construction,” remarked the Brazilian.

How Bindilatti helped create a permanent bobsleigh team in Brazil

When he joined Brazil's bobsleigh team, Bindilatti was the breakman - responsible for braking the sled after crossing the finish line. The experienced slider also spent almost ten years as a push athlete, before dedicating himself exclusively to the role of pilot, improving over time.

He was able to put this experience into practice when first putting together a team in 2013.

Edson Martins, Erick Vianna and Rafael Souza have been a vital part of the team for over a decade. Jefferson Sabino, who competed in the triple jump at Beijing 2008, joined in 2021. The team also included Odirlei Pessoni, “our heart," as Bindilatti sums it up, who died in a motorcycle accident in March 2021.

“It was a lot of hard work. Today, we are very much in sync," said Bindilatti. “Nowadays, I arrive at the track and I don’t even need to look at the sled; the athletes are already working on it. I have so much confidence in them that I just arrive, put on my helmet and off we go,” he adds.

Even so, the team holds tryouts whenever possible to seek out new talent and strengthen the group. Those interested must meet minimum requirements in a number of tests - including current athletes - to maintain their physical excellence. There were two tryouts in 2024 and they expect to hold another tryout in 2025.

Additionally, the Brazilian team has begun seeking out female athletes for the monobob and two-woman event, especially for the period after Milano Cortina 2026.

Under the command of Jo Manning, Bindilatti dreams of a top 10 finish in his farewell

Given his success in the sport, what aspirations still drive Bindilatti?

“If we have specific equipment for the competition, we can fight to be among the top ten in the world”, he explained, with an eye on Milano Cortina 2026. A bold goal for the team that finished 20th at Beijing 2022.

“I don’t like to talk like this because it seems like it’s something bigger than it really is, but we know our potential and how good we are”, asserted Brazil's foremost bobsleigh pilot.

The secret to improving his team's results lies in finding good equipment, which in this case means having a top-of-the-line sled. A brand-new sled, made especially for competition, costs around 130 thousand euros - a price that is still unfeasible for the Brazilian team. However, it is possible to rent a sled, and perhaps find a good bargain.

It is for this reason that the Brazilian team has resumed its partnership with British coach Jo Manning, who was responsible for the team's most successful period between 2016 and 2018. More than just guiding the team on the ice, she is able to open doors for the team on any track in the world.

"She can do a lot of things that we have more difficulty achieving. Jo's agility will be extremely important. It keeps us focused on preparation and on what she does best, which is pushing the sled, driving it and achieving results," he concluded.

With the countdown clock ticking ever closer to Milano Cortina 2026, time is of the essence for Bindilatti and his team.