Winter Olympics 2022 - Francesco Friedrich guides German four-man crew to victory to repeat double gold medal feat

ByBen Southby

Updated 20/02/2022 at 09:19 GMT

Francesco Friedrich became the first athlete to defend both the two-man and four-man bobsleigh events, after claiming victory at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre as his crew finished 0.37s clear of compatriots in a German one-two. Team GB - piloted by Brad Hall - enjoyed a respectable final heat, finishing sixth overall.

The German bobsleigh team led by Francesco Friedrich won gold in the four-man event as compatriot Johannes Lochner’s squad finished second for a German one-two.

Friedrich repeated his Pyeongchang 2018 feat as he secured double Olympic bobsleigh gold for a second time, becoming the first athlete ever to defend both the four-man and the two-man titles.

Justin Kripps' Canadian team secured a bronze medal, whilst Team GB’s only bobsleigh unit, piloted by Brad Hall, finished in a respectable sixth.

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The dominant Friedrich’s lead German unit were first out onto the ice to get the third heat underway, and capitalised on their good form over the opening heats registering a speedy time of 58.17 seconds to pile the pressure on those around them.

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Germany's second team piloted by Johannes Lochner - who went in overnight in second place - couldn’t make up ground on their compatriots with a time of 58.34s which saw Friedrich’s extend their lead by 0.17s.

However, confidence grew in the German camp in the hope of a one-two after Canada dropped further behind Lochner’s crew in second.

Great Britain gave themselves a chance of their best finish after their third run but pilot Hall seemed disappointed as the British sled crossed the finish line, their time of 58.65 meant they fell further away from the podium places by over half a second.

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Hall's hopes of a top six finish were strengthened though when the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) 1 - led by Rostislav Gaitiukevich - lost 0.16s on Hall’s sled.

The Netherlands, Jamaica, Switzerland 2 and Canada 3 were amongst those eliminated after the third run, posting a finish below the leading 20 sleds.

• Medal table
• Schedule and results
• Team GB

Going into the fourth heat teams went down the track in reverse order, which meant 20th place Brazil went out first and leaders Germany would conclude the event.

Hall’s crew posted the fastest time of the fourth run on the board as they clocked over the line at 59.38. Latvia - led by Oskars Kibermanis - quickly bettered GB’s attempt by 0.08s to secure a top five finish.

Germany had the chance of a full podium sweep when Hafer’s team slotted into first position with only the two remaining German teams and Canada to go. On the next run though, Kripps led the Canadian sled as they denied Germany a one-two-three to secure bronze medal, beating Hafer’s crew by just 0.06s.

Lochner needed something special from his men if they wanted to have any chance of pipping their compatriots to the gold - but despite securing silver medal with their run - it would take something extraordinary to go wrong for Friedrich’s squad to give up top spot.

And the great German duly sealed victory, his sled crossing the line in 59.13s, 0.37s clear of his compatriots in second place.

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The Olympic Games will return with Paris 2024, live on Eurosport and discovery+

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