Francesco Friedrich wins ninth two-man title! "How does he do that?"

Lake Placid (USA) - The loud "Yes" at the finish line was more of a cry of relief from Francesco Friedrich (34). The dominator in the ice channel didn't really feel like celebrating after his ninth World Championship title in the two-man bobsleigh. He was already focusing on the four-man bobsleigh race, where he can win his 16th World Championship gold overall next weekend.

Back at the top, if only by a very, very narrow margin: Francesco Friedrich (34, l.) and Alexander Schüller (27) won their ninth World Championship title in the two-man event.
Back at the top, if only by a very, very narrow margin: Francesco Friedrich (34, l.) and Alexander Schüller (27) won their ninth World Championship title in the two-man event.  © dpa/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

"Let's see how my form is in the evening," said the two-time double Olympic champion after the two-man title. After four runs, Friedrich had saved a lead of three hundredths of a second.

His German rival Johannes Lochner (34) was still just ahead a few bends before the end. But somehow, the 34-year-old Saxon managed to use all his routine and perfection to pull out a win.

"How does he do that?" Lochner exclaimed in disbelief, angrily firing his helmet at the ground. "It was the toughest race I can remember," said Lochner. Even though gold went to Friedrich - some aspects and times spoke in favor of the Berchtesgadener of the same age.

Together with Georg Fleischhauer (36), he achieved the best start time of all the teams with 5.01 seconds in the final fourth run and in 54.52 seconds in the third run he obliterated the age-old track record set by Canadian Pierre Lueders (54) in 2003.

Lochner had to admit defeat to Friedrich by 0.03 seconds

The moment when Johannes Lochner (34) looked at the timing and saw that Francesco Friedrich was 0.03 seconds ahead.
The moment when Johannes Lochner (34) looked at the timing and saw that Francesco Friedrich was 0.03 seconds ahead.  © dpa/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

"I can be satisfied with the performances on the steering ropes, Georg with the start performances," said Lochner. The duo had already broken Friedrich's dominance in the small sled in St. Moritz in 2023 and won World Championship gold.

This time, there was a lack of power at the start and concentration on the steering ropes on Mount van Hoevenberg on the first day of the race, when they crashed into the barriers several times in the chicane.

It is not the first time that such small nuances have tipped the scales for the Saxon.

"It was exciting throughout, we had a few hundredths on our side on the first day. That saved our butts," analyzed Friedrich. Friedrich is also expecting a close race in the four-man bobsleigh in the US state of New York: "It will be even tighter there."