Track record in the first run, track record in the second run, plus best starting times in both runs – Francesco Friedrich is back at the World Championships in his old strength.
Just in time for the World Championships, Francesco Friedrich has also returned to his former flagship discipline of two-man bobsleigh. The 33-year-old from Pirna (Saxony) leads at halftime of the title fights in Winterberg with a lead of 0.22 seconds over the brother duo Adam and Issam Ammour (BRC Thuringia/Eintracht Frankfurt) and is on the verge of his eighth world title in the small sled. In total, the record world champion would then have 13 World Championship victories with the four gold medals in the four-man bobsleigh and the two team titles.
Defending champion Johannes Lochner from Berchtesgaden, who had dominated the season in the small sled in Altenberg with his Potsdam pusher Georg Fleischhauer until his serious fall in four-man bobsleigh training, is in third place at the halfway point of the World Cup.
Track record improved
The two-time double Olympic champion Friedrich, who did not win a World Cup victory in the small sled this winter despite constant podium finishes, immediately improved his own track record with start number one to 54.67 seconds and then increased it again to 54.54 seconds.
He was also best at the start with Alexander Schüller as the pusher. With 5.06 seconds each, the Saxon provided the best initial speed on the so-called starter track in Hochsauerland. Even European champion Adam Ammour, who was able to defeat Friedrich on his home track in Altenberg, couldn’t keep up.