Yanqing, China, Feb 15 (AFP/APP):Francesco Friedrich retained his Olympic two-man bobsleigh crown with a storming display of piloting on Tuesday as Germany swept the medals in Beijing, but the ice ace was already focusing on his next title defence.
He said he was “proud” that Germany dominated the podium at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre. “We all gave our best.”
However, Friedrich is already plotting the defence of his four-man title when the heats start Saturday.
He had little time to celebrate his two-man gold “because we carry straight on, tomorrow morning we have four-man training. It’s been a really tough competition so far.”
Friedrich only held a slender overnight lead over German team-mate Johannes Lochner, but stamped his authority in Tuesday’s first heat with a new track record.
The 31-year-old and his brakeman Thorsten Margis then built up their lead, clocking a winning combined time of 3:56.89 as Lochner took silver at 0.49 back.
It was a sign of how much Friedrich dominated the rest of the field that German pilot Christoph Hafer took bronze at 1.69 seconds back, a huge margin in the high-speed sport.
Friedrich said he was relieved after struggling to master the track in training, but delivered when it mattered.
“This is special, you win and lose races on the World Cup circuit, but the Olympics are something else,” he said.
“Especially on a track which is so tricky and where training didn’t go well.”
Great Britain pilot Brad Hall was left shaken by a crash in the third heat yet still managed to finish, dusting himself off to eventually finish 3.03 behind in 11th.
This was the third Olympic gold of Friedrich’s career after he won both the two and four-man Olympic titles in 2018.
As the reigning world champion, he had already dominated the World Cup this winter by winning 14 of the 16 races.
He can repeat the Olympic bobsleigh double in the four-man with the medals to be decided in Sunday’s two heats in the last sliding event of the Beijing Games.
German racers have now won 12 of the 24 medals awarded at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre, including seven of the eight golds, after sweeping the luge and skeleton events.
Kaillie Humphries broke the Germans’ domination on Monday when she won gold in the inaugural women’s monobob.
Follow the PNI Facebook page for the latest news and updates.
