Francesco Friedrich, the two-time Olympic bobsleigh champion from Germany, clinched his third gold medal in two-man bobsleigh at the World Cup bobsled race in Altenburg. He achieved this feat for the 21st time in his career, coming from third place behind Cameron Stones and Justin Kripps to triumph in the four-man event.
This win marks Friedrich’s fifth victory of the current World Cup season, contributing to Germany’s dominance with wins in all nine bobsled races across the first three tour stops. Oskars Kibermanis from Latvia finished second, followed by Nico Walther from Germany in third place.
Justin Olsen of the US finished in 19th place, while Codie Bascue, who was hampered by a left leg injury, placed 20th in the second heat. Friedrich claimed his second World Cup two-man bobsled gold medal of his career by outpacing Kibermanis in a competition on December 9, 2018, in Sigulda.
In that race, Friedrich and his brakeman Grothkopp triumphed over Kibermanis and Matiss Miknis in both rounds. Friedrich’s winning time was one minute and 40.25 seconds, just ahead of Kibermanis who finished in 1 minute and 40.31 seconds. Germany swept all three bobsled events held in Sigulda.
Following Mariama Jamanka and Annika Drazek’s victory in the first women’s bobsled race on Friday, Friedrich and Alexander Schueller secured the top spot in the opening two-man bobsled race on Saturday. Friedrich leads the standings with 675 points, followed by Kibermanis with 620 points and Walther with 560 points after three races. The World Cup bobsled season will continue next weekend in Koenigssee, Germany.
