Francesco Friedrich remains on the hunt for records: "We have to defend the double gold"

Even before the home World Cup in Altenberg, bobsleigh ace Francesco Friedrich ponders his future and the upcoming Olympic Games.

He's still far from having enough.

Munich - Francesco Friedrich has had a relaxing week.

On the one hand, because the Olympic bobsleigh champion rarely gets upset anyway.

On the other hand, because the World Cup will take place on his home track in Altenberg from today - and no one doubts his next double triumph.

In the interview, the 32-year-old looks at the highlight of the season.

Mr. Friedrich, when you mention your name in connection with bobsleigh, it says everywhere: "Which record has it not yet broken?"

Friedrich:

(laughs) Oh, there are a few more.

Which?

Friedrich:

Well first of all we have to win a world championship title to be the sole record holder.

Then Andre Lange won five world championship titles in a foursome, plus three of them in a row.

We have only just discontinued that.

In concrete terms: we have to become four-man world champions twice, actually three times.

And we would have to defend double gold.

Nobody has done that either.

There are still enough incentives.

Interview with Francesco Friedrich: Would have liked to have measured me in Lake Placid

So it is fitting that another home World Cup is coming up - or would you have preferred to measure yourself in the year before the Olympic Games on a track that you don't know very well?

Friedrich:

Lake Placid, the original World Cup location, we would have preferred, I openly admit that.

Especially in the Vierer, I would have liked to see how we stand there.

Especially since the home World Cup this year won't be like last year.

You won't be able to compare that.

From a purely sporting point of view, any other track would have been better for us.

Now it can be that in the end it is said: “They have home advantage again.” However, the whining is at a high level, you have to be clear.

We are happy that we can drive a World Cup, that we get the TV times.

Ultimately, that's what counts.

And it's much more relaxed for you.

Friedrich:

Indeed.

I'll even sleep at home as much as possible.

So when the children sleep through the night (laughs).

The motto for the whole season is “material test”.

How is that different from a normal winter?

Friedrich:

We actually drove a new sled almost every week, built back and forth, readjusted the steering, and had to re-lock ourselves every week.

Only in the last few weeks before the World Cup did we commit to sledges, which we will then use until the end of the season.

So, at least in that respect, it'll be a little more relaxed.

Was the task exhausting for your head and body?

Friedrich:

Absolutely, very much.

Plus the many corona tests *.

I admit: We had really little air this winter.

What are your findings on the way to Beijing?

Friedrich:

Our current status is pretty good.

But you can't be blinded: We're in the pre-Olympic year, so none of that means anything yet.

We do think that there will be developments in the competition too.

And when someone takes a real leap forward, our advantage is there again quickly.

That's why we have to keep working hard, think about things in the summer, move things forward.

The basic concept is good - now it's time to tease out the subtleties for the Olympics.

Interview with Francesco Friedrich: "It'll be a hot story in the Vierer"

Johannes Lochner tested in parallel.

So far, however, he has not come close to your performance.

Nevertheless, he says: “If someone beats him, it will be me.” Is that realistic with a view to the World Cup?

Friedrich:

Yes, in two.

But in the four there are one, two or three other competitors.

You have to have Justin Kripps on the bill, plus the Latvians, the Austrian Benjamin Maier, who gets by very well in Altenberg.

It's going to be a hot story in the foursome, I'm sure.

How do you deal with Lochner?

Isn't he getting increasingly annoyed that you're always ahead?

Friedrich:

Our company is very good, as always.

But honestly, we hardly have any contact due to the hygiene regulations.

We'll only see each other on the train, otherwise not.

Food, athletic training, material - everything takes place at different times.

No opportunity for stupid sayings?

Friedrich:

(laughs) From time to time it works.

But then from both sides.

In Munich, even at FC Bayern, there is a feeling of oversaturation, but that seems to be a foreign concept for you.

How do you manage to become even better, even faster, even more successful?

Friedrich:

We just think about it and check the system anew every year.

Athletic training, runners, sledges - we have meticulously developed further.

Our team is also almost at the best performance level, we all make each other even better.

Do you never have the feeling in your head: I already have everything?

Friedrich:

That is my job that I do here.

And I'm lucky enough to do a job that doesn't leave me bored with going to the office every day.

I just enjoy it: I'm outside, I can have fun, I can go down the ice channels.

I am also very aware that time in sport is limited.

I want to use it every day.

Because I don't want to say after the end of my career: If only I had done this and that differently.

Interview with Francesco Friedrich: I took a different path from the start

National coach René Spies says nothing can disturb you.

Is that correct?

Friedrich:

That is correct.

Was that the case when you became the youngest world champion in history in 2013?

So: is this calm a character trait - or did you have to learn it?

Friedrich:

A little bit of both.

I've always been calm and relaxed, but of course you learn.

And there are also mistakes that you make at the beginning that you don't make any more.

You learn a lot from things that have gone wrong.

And from the start I took a different path than today's pilots.

Which?

Friedrich:

I started at the bottom.

With bad equipment, slow pushers, without sponsors.

As a result, I have a different background: I know what it is like when you have to fight to get connected.

That shaped me and ensured that I don't want to or have to leave anything to chance today.

It's not my style. The newcomers who come in now sit on FES sledges with good pushers behind them.

That’s something else.

Your counterpart in tobogganing is Felix Loch.

However, he was not at all good for two winters before he fought his way back.

Do you rule out a performance gap for yourself?

Friedrich:

I can't, because something like that can always happen.

Just like you can always get hurt.

But even there we try to position ourselves well in terms of regeneration technology.

We eat well and have good physical therapists to help us.

I'm just as meticulous here as I am everywhere.

Interview with Francesco Friedrich: "I know very well where my limits are"

What does your body say at 30 - what else than at the beginning of 20?

Friedrich:

Definitely.

There are some things that I have to think more about today than before, and I have to use my strength more carefully.

But I know where my limits are, when I have to be careful, when I'm fit enough to be able to play.

Can you get any better?

Friedrich:

We'll see that, I won't rule it out.

But it depends on various factors.

We're already at a very, very good level athletically, so maybe a little bit is still possible.

But in the materials sector you keep developing.

We too always have new ideas, some of them work, but some don't.

The main problem is always time.

The runs per year are limited, but we have so many ideas that we have to focus on one direction.

So that's the hardest part.

But there is plenty of time until 2026.

Friedrich:

Always one after the other (laughs).

My primary goal is Beijing, then the World Cup in St. Moritz.

And then we look from year to year to see how things continue.

If I have to struggle to get onto the podium at all, I'll deal with the end of my career.

Because that's not my goal.

But you don't rule out another four years after Beijing?

Friedrich:

Not at the moment.

Under no circumstance.

There are still a few records to be broken.

Friedrich:

That's how it is (laughs).

The interview was conducted by Hanna Raif.

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