As of: February 25, 2024, 4:34 p.m
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Split
Francesco Friedrich from Germany celebrates at the finish.
© Robert Michael/dpa
After almost 15 months, Friedrich wins another two-man bobsleigh race.
Just in time for the World Cup.
There was a crazy race in the monobob, where Nolte from Winterberg raced from four to one in front of her fans.
Winterberg - The dominator in the ice channel is back.
With a top performance delivered to the point, Francesco Friedrich returned in his flagship discipline and won the eighth World Championship title in the two-man bobsleigh.
At the finish, Friedrich cheered exuberantly with his pusher Alexander Schüller, took his children Karl and Hannes in his arms and celebrated a great two-man bobsleigh World Championship.
The 33-year-old from Pirna impressed in the first run.
With start number one, he increased his own track record to 54.67 seconds and improved it to 54.54 and 54.39 seconds.
In the first 30 meters he was very strong with Schüller and with his high initial speed he laid the foundation for the so-called starter track in Hochsauerland.
Even Euro champion Adam Ammour and defending champion Johannes Lochner didn't come along on Sunday.
Friedrich won the German triple success confidently after four runs with a lead of 0.34 seconds over the brothers Adam and Issam Ammour (BRC Thuringia/Eintracht Frankfurt) and Lochner from Berchtesgaden, who with his Potsdam pusher Georg Fleischhauer spent the season in the small sled up to his heavy one The fall in the four-man bobsleigh training last dominated in Altenberg.
For the two-time double Olympic champion and record world champion Friedrich, it was his 15th World Cup victory, including the five gold medals in the four-man bobsleigh and the two team titles.
“It was difficult the whole season up to this point to keep going.
We found a small error that was probably decisive,” said Friedrich.
During training he chose the right points where the trainers should stand.
“It was the points where I knew that you could make mistakes and lose a lot of time.
“That has become noticeable,” emphasized the world champion and explained: “It just doesn’t get any easier.
The competition doesn’t sleep and if you don’t stick with it, aren’t meticulous and ambitious, then it’s not enough,” said Friedrich.
For the women, Laura Nolte's gold dream came true on her home track.
“I saw a video of the first run, where my parents and friends were so happy at the track, so I said to myself, I want to give something back to them and win here,” said Nolte, who started on shaky legs due to adductor problems said: “Yesterday it wasn’t clear whether I would start.
In the morning we decided with the physios that we would take the risk that it would turn out like this. I would never have thought.” With the best running time in the third run and the second best in the final run, she defended her title from the previous year in St. Moritz.
With 18 hundredths of a second, she relegated the American Elena Meyers Taylor to silver.
Lisa Buckwitz, who was in the lead after the first day, took bronze.
It even looked as if it wouldn't be a medal.
But Australian Breeana Walker made a mistake.
“I've never experienced anything like that before, it's really crazy,” she said with tears in her eyes.
She had flirted with gold.
“Sometimes sport is unfair.
In the third run I skied perfectly, the ice was bad, with start number one I made the lane for the others,” said Buckwitz, who set the track record (58.51 seconds) in the first run.
dpa