Germany’s Francesco Friedrich clinched the gold medal in the World Cup two-man bobsled event for the second time, narrowly edging out Latvia’s Oskars Kibermanis. Friedrich and his brakeman Martin Grothkopp showed superior speed compared to Kibermanis and Matiss Miknis in both the initial and second runs. Friedrich’s winning time was 1 minute, 40.25 seconds, just ahead of Kibermanis’s time of 1:40.31 on his home track.
Francesco Friedrich has been actively participating in bobsledding since 2006. A highlight of his career includes winning a gold medal in the two-man event at the 2018 Winter Olympics with brakeman Throsten Margis, defeating Canada’s Justin Kripps and Alexander Kopacz. He also secured gold in the four-man event with Margis, Candy Bauer, and Grothkopp, making him the fifth German pilot to achieve gold in both the two-man and four-man events at the same Games, a feat previously accomplished by Andreas Ostler, Meinhard Nehmer, Wolfgang Hoppe, and Andre Lange.
In previous Winter Olympics appearances in 2014, Friedrich finished eighth in the doubles category and tenth in the fours. He has also amassed several gold medals at the IBSF World Championship. Germany also claimed the third spot in the two-man bobsled event with Christoph Hafer and Tobias Schneider finishing in 1:40.50. American pair Codie Bascue and Hakeem Abdul-Saboor secured the 14th position.
Over the weekend, Germany dominated all three bobsled events in Sigulda. Olympic champion Mariama Jamanka and Annika Drazek won the season’s first World Cup women’s bobsled race on Friday, while Friedrich and Alexander Schueller claimed victory in the two-man bobsled race season-opener on Saturday.
