Francesco Friedrich had always stood out from many of his bobsleigh colleagues. The explosive power that you need when pushing at the top often erupts in wild roars and below, when victory is certain, in piercing screams of joy. Of course Friedrich is happy too, he smiles and at the same time gives the impression that he is already thinking about the next race.
On the second Tuesday of the Olympic Games in Beijing, however, there was a jubilation in the assembled bobsleigh camp of the Germans, the volume of which even this association, spoiled by success, probably did not yet know. A premiere in this sport was performed, a new record of medals: gold, silver and bronze in the two-man bobsleigh went to Germany, which had never happened before in Olympic bobsleighing.
The distance between the other teams should also give the Germans something to think about
This was indicated from the first track training session in Beijing. Friedrich and his brakeman Thorsten Margis never had any problems with the tricky opening passage, in which you can easily lose important initial speed. The two managed to stay ahead for four runs and finally scooped gold again. It was Friedrich’s third Olympic victory together with the two successes at the Pyeongchang Games four years ago.
Halfway through: Francesco Friedrich (right) and Thorsten Margis with their gold medals in the two-man bobsleigh. The next Olympic victory is to follow in a foursome.
(Photo: Adam Pretty/Getty)
The somewhat more emotional Berchtesgaden silver pilot Johannes Lochner proceeded in a similarly determined manner. Pushed by Florian Bauer, he always landed at a reasonable distance behind Friedrich from the first run and had a clear lead over the rest of the field. And because the strengths of the two German bobsleigh pilots have existed for years, because nobody had anything to oppose them, the topic of tension shifted to the fight for bronze place. Christoph Hafer and Matthias Sommer were still behind after the first day, but only by 0.05 seconds, which resulted in a lead of 25 hundredths on Tuesday.
After the celebrations, the fact that the rest of the bobsleigh world was left behind in such a way should also give the Germans food for thought. It may have been due to the particularly demanding route, perhaps also to the pandemic, which has probably made the conception and training more difficult here and there. In any case, the strengths of the German ice rink system have now become particularly noticeable after the current successes of lugers and skeletonists.
The fiasco at the Olympics in Sochi had kindled Friedrich’s great ambition
First of all, there was Friedrich’s motivation, who to a certain extent pulled the others along with him. He has already collected 13 world championship titles, but only two Olympic victories. After surprisingly getting nothing in Sochi in 2014, Friedrich may find the Olympics even more important than other athletes already do. Even before the Sochi fiasco, he had understood that bobsleigh pilots shouldn’t just sit and steer, but also play a dual role as pilot and, of course, brakeman. That’s why he and Margis regularly achieve the best starting times, like now in a twosome.
Every detail has to be right, which is why Friedrich can sometimes turn everything upside down, as is the case now in Beijing. On the morning of the second day of racing, he decided to swap his actually not so bad bobsled – as a reminder: he was in first place – for a vehicle that was even better tuned to the track, namely that of teammate Kim Kalicki.
That finally carried him to gold, which relieved the perfectionist and brooding mind of further worries. The first victory, with the two, was certain, but Friedrich’s project is only half successful. It goes on almost immediately afterwards, he warned: “Tomorrow morning is four-man training.”