The ailing Olympic champion Francesco Friedrich is threatened with the end of his title series in the two-man bobsleigh at the World Championships in St. Moritz – the world champion in the small sled could still come from Germany for the eighth time in a row.
Halfway through the competition, Friedrich’s team rival Johannes Lochner is in the lead, with a lead of 0.32 seconds over second-placed Friedrich after two runs.
Friedrich had started the race with a handicap, a muscle injury he recently suffered impaired his ability to perform at the start – and he promptly had to give up the best values in this area.
Lochner and his brakeman Georg Fleischhauer were fastest in the first few meters in both runs, Friedrich and Alexander Schüller lost important hundredths at the start.
“We are satisfied for the time being because the leg seems to hold up,” said Friedrich, who, however, struggled with his performance on the natural ice rink: “The track is very special, you have to steer more than usual, which means that you make more mistakes can. That’s how it was.”
Will Francesco Friedrich’s impressive series break?
The highly rated Swiss Michael Vogt set the best time on his home track in the first run, but had to let the German duo overtake him with a weaker second run.
Vogt is just 0.39 seconds behind Friedrich. Christoph Hafer and brakeman Matthias Sommer are fifth (+0.54) and within striking distance of the podium.
The World Championships in St. Moritz are a special competition for Friedrich. Exactly ten years ago he won his first world title here in two-man bobsleigh, which he successfully defended in the following six title fights. He has also been the measure of all things in the foursome for years.
Friedrich has been unbeaten in both sleds at the World Championships and Olympics since 2017 – the series could now end on Sunday, Lochner is hoping for his first two-man title.
The decisive runs three and four will take place from 1:15 p.m.