At some point the time came when Francesco Friedrich had to give his first interviews. And he still remembers exactly what he answered, probably because it was only three words that varied depending on the question: “Yes”, “No” or, at least: “Maybe”. A little later, and he was still young, he suddenly had to give interviews in English. That, he now looks back, “wasn’t the best either”.
But whatever. He was just young. The decisive factor for the success of the bobsleigh pilot Francesco Friedrich was the fact that he soon answered in detail and also in English. And that he even recognized what is important in his sport, which is also his job – namely to keep learning.
Friedrich is now the best bobsledder in history. On the final Sunday of the Beijing games, he showed what he can do again. After the race in the two-man bobsleigh, he also won the four-man event, which means he now has five Olympic victories, equal to his German predecessor André Lange. He has apparently gained more and more experience, otherwise he would not have stringed together two double wins in 2018 and 2022. In Beijing it was Johannes Lochner from Berchtesgaden who initially stood up to him, until in the second part Friedrich understood the task and drove away from him.
Friedrich doesn’t show any muscles, doesn’t yell at cameras and doesn’t use any psychological tricks
It’s perhaps not so unfair that the big stage on the final day has always belonged to the four-man bobsleigh for some time, on which it feels like the driver from Oberbärenburg is always allowed to present his skills. Because he is called that, but his appearance corresponds more to the opposite of a dominator. Friedrich doesn’t show any muscles, he doesn’t yell at cameras, he doesn’t provoke in interviews, he doesn’t use psychological tricks, he doesn’t stage himself. He just shows what can be achieved if you keep your respect for the details.
In Beijing, too, on this complicated, pressureless Schlitterbahn, he succeeded in the basic task of bobsledding, namely mastering almost every passage on time. The reason lies in his years of learning in the channels in the USA, Canada, Northern Europe and now also in Beijing. It’s the same everywhere, he said beforehand: “You know what needs to be done. If the sequences and processes are right, that’s a good sign.” Because then everything works automatically. Friedrich speaks politely, but without emotion, like a maths teacher leading the students to the result: “If everything works,” says Friedrich, then the bobsleigh and its four occupants will drive by themselves, “then it’ll go in the direction of the robot.”
Francesco Friedrich, Candy Bauer, Alexander Schüller and Thorsten Margis (from right to left).
(Photo: Kyodo News/imago)
This also has to do with another law of success. Even the conditions in Germany are impressive. Four tracks in four federal states, a lot of competition and students who can learn directly from the big winners. “It’s a huge system,” says Friedrich and concludes: “If a detail doesn’t work, then the details always work better somewhere else.” If the chassis does indeed jerk a bit, then start times, jump-in phase, runners, steering, aerodynamics, sense of rhythm, general experience and team spirit are outstanding. Ergo: The German bobsleigh excellence is based on most positive factors. Conclusion: The reassured pilot drives even safer.
Just like the English language at some point, Friedrich has now also studied and understood the grammar of this Beijing ice rink. He was already at a high level when he won the 2-man bobsleigh, which also benefited him for both victories, it was a special learning aid. Because the bob pilots could only use a few training runs, preparation began earlier – at home, on the bob simulator. It arose from a project on which the former Berchtesgaden World Cup luger Julian von Schleinitz had also worked. Because everything revolves around the instinctive right rhythm on the track. And just as a guitarist can practice to the beat of drums from the box, a bobsledder can also practice to the rhythm of curves filmed in front of the screen.
“We are not tired yet”, says Friedrich, “there are still four years to come”
But simulation is all well and good, the training in China was decisive. Friedrich and his brakeman Thorsten Margis, Candy Bauer and Alexander Schüller threw themselves onto the track and learned their lessons from every run. They understood how to avoid looking like a loser after the first turn because the runners crossed the ice due to a lack of contact pressure. They dove aerodynamically inside the long bob cigar and followed the rhythm of the track. Thanks to Friedrich’s steering, they got better and better through the other uncomfortable spots, such as the middle section, where the bob suddenly had to drive slightly uphill and again lost grip on the ice.
They felt that Friedrich was getting better and better at this point, especially in runs three and four, and then possibly enjoyed the next turns seven to twelve, including the wide gyro, a 360-degree turn in which the inner one Tension rises again, because soon after that the decision is made: the now familiar left-hand gang after the 13, which every vehicle, whether toboggan, skeleton or bobsled, has inevitably hit at these games if the driver has not steered correctly 30 meters beforehand.
Mastered almost every passage on time: Francesco Friedrich, Thorsten Margis, Candy Bauer and Alexander Schüller on their gold ride on Sunday in the Yanqing Sliding Center.
(Photo: Thomas Peter/Reuters)
Francesco Friedrich was in the last bobsleigh that shot across the finish line in Beijing and everyone cheered, including the pilot, although he didn’t let loose as much as other dominators. One of his first sentences was: “We’re just glad we made it here, it was at a top level.” Ergo: “There’s a load falling off your shoulders.”
It is questionable whether bobsleigh track construction is also subject to fashion, whether the next Olympic track in Cortina d’Ampezzo will have similar difficulties. Because the old area in the Dolomites is used there, on which the almost dilapidated track of the 1956 games still stands. It should be renovated in 2024 so that it can be tested in competitions in good time. Friedrich quickly forgot the burden on his shoulders, otherwise he would not have announced that he would continue to bob in Cortina until 2026. He’s only 31 years old. “We’re not tired yet,” he said, “there’s four more years to come.”
And there is still much to learn.