Friedrich wins 9th 2-man world bobsleigh title, leading another German sweep

Tim Reynolds · The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 09, 2025 3:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: 15 minutes ago

The top ever conscionable keeps getting better.

Francesco Friedrich is simply a satellite champion again, winning the two-man contention astatine Mount Van Hoevenberg connected Sunday successful a down-to-the-wire decorativeness — holding disconnected German teammate Johannes Lochner by the razor-slim borderline of 0.03 seconds implicit 4 runs encompassing astir four miles of ice.

"It was a pugnacious battle," Friedrich said. "We said it would be."

It's the ninth two-man satellite title of Friedrich's vocation and extended his grounds full to 15 satellite titles overall, erstwhile adding successful his six crowns successful four-man. He'll look to adhd different four-man rubric erstwhile worlds reason successful Lake Placid adjacent week.

That full doesn't adjacent instrumentality into relationship his 4 Olympic golden medals — two-man and four-man sweeps astatine the 2018 and 2022 Games. When it comes to the biggest races, cipher has won much than Friedrich. Not adjacent close. And for this title, helium had to marque up immoderate crushed successful the last turns.

"Having the information to triumph each contention is nary occupation for me," Friedrich said.

WATCH | Friedrich wins 9th 2-man satellite rubric successful melodramatic fashion:

Friedrich and Alexander Schuller finished their 4 runs implicit 2 days successful three minutes, 39.32 seconds. Lochner and Georg Fleischhauer finished successful 3:39.35, and Adam Ammour and Benedikt Hertel finished the German medal expanse successful 3:40.15.

It's the 4th clip successful the past 5 years that Germany has swept the medals successful the season's biggest two-man race, this 1 being added to the sweeps astatine worlds successful 2021, the 2022 Beijing Olympics and past year's satellite championships.

Watch unrecorded sum of the bobsleigh satellite championships connected CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. A unrecorded streaming docket is disposable here.

Frank Del Duca and Charlie Volker were 4th for the U.S. successful 3:40.38, missing a medal by little than a quarter-second. And aft it was over, Del Duca tipped his headdress to Friedrich's continued dominance.

"He knows however to pass with a sled," Del Duca said. "He knows erstwhile helium needs to steer a small more. He knows erstwhile to conscionable fto it run. And sometimes he's flat-out flawless. He conscionable knows however to get velocity retired of the sled. And helium and the guys astir him are unthinkable athletes. They ever find a mode to get it done."

Leuders's way grounds falls

Friedrich was archetypal down the upland Sunday and acceptable the code by completing Run 3 successful 54.60 seconds, a way grounds — shaving 0.01 seconds disconnected the people that Pierre Lueders of Canada acceptable 22 years ago.

And Friedrich held the grounds for astir 2 minutes. Lochner got down successful 54.52 seconds, cutting Friedrich's wide pb going into the last vigor to 0.06 seconds.

The commencement bid is reversed for the last tally truthful Lochner went next-to-last, 1 sled earlier Friedrich, and finished successful 54.94 seconds. That meant Friedrich needed a 55.00 to tie; helium crossed the enactment successful 54.97.

Lochner's divided times successful the last tally enactment him up of Friedrich with astir 3 turns left, earlier Friedrich made up the shortage successful the last 100 meters oregon truthful of the track.

Friedrich got 5 wins successful the World Cup play and Lochner won 4 times. There are lone 8 races — the German stars really tied for the triumph successful 1 of those events, and done 20 competitory two-man runs this play Friedrich's two-man sled finished a specified 1.13 seconds faster than Lochner's.

They were adjacent each season, and adjacent again successful the season's two-man finale.

"It was an astonishing race," Lochner said.

Taylor Austin and Mike Evelyn O'Higgins were the apical Canadians, finishing 15th (3:43.63). Pat Norton and Shaq Murray-Lawrence were 16th, portion Cyrus Gray and Kenny-Luketa M'Pindou placed 26th.