Brazilian bobsledder Odirlei Pessoni has died at the age of 38 ©IBSF

Brazilian bobsledder Odirlei Pessoni has died at the age of 38 in a fatal motorcycle crash in Peixoto.

According to reports in the Brazilian media, Pessoni was riding with friends when they were hit by a car coming from the opposite direction.

Pessoni, who represented Brazil in bobsleigh at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympic Games, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Brazilian Confederation of Ice Sports was among those to pay tribute to Pessoni.

Odirlei Pessoni competed for Brazil in the four-man bobsleigh event at Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018 ©Getty Images
Odirlei Pessoni competed for Brazil in the four-man bobsleigh event at Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018 ©Getty Images

"In this moment of pain, we sympathise with family, friends and with the entire bobsled and ice sports community in Brazil," the organisation said in a statement.

Pessoni was a member of the four-man team which finished 29th at Pyeongchang 2018.

The Brazilian four-man squad featuring Pessoni came 26th four years earlier at Sochi 2014.

"He was always willing to help, always willing to make things happen," Edson Bindilatti, a team mate of Pessoni at the 2014 and 2018 Games, told Globo Esporte.

"There was no bad time for him.

"He was our mechanic, who regulated our sled and a great athlete, who made the difference. 

"At the top of the track, no-one scared him. 

"He came with all his will and a very good heart."