Bobsleigh gold sweep for Germany in Innsbruck World Cup as Francesco Friedrich extends lead

BySportsbeat

Published 30/11/2021 at 14:14 GMT

Francesco Friedrich cruised to his 17th four-man BMW IBSF World Cup bobsleigh victory as Germany took home gold in Innsbruck. There was also success in the two-woman event as European champion Laura Nolte took the top step for a second straight week, teaming up with Deborah Levi to beat compatriots Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig.

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Germany won the four-man and two-women events in the BMW IBSF World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria

Francesco Friedrich cruised to his 17th four-man BMW IBSF World Cup bobsleigh gold with 1:41.82 in Innsbruck.

The German pilot extended his lead at the top of the leaderboard with his sixth straight World Cup victory after winning the season opener last weekend.

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Friedrich's grip on gold wasn't a given after an uncharacteristic seventh-turn slip in during the first heat nearly spelled danger, but the dominant crew held on to finish 0.28s ahead of Latvian Oskars Kibermanis in second.

The silver medallist came into the final heat tied for sixth with Justin Kripps, only five hundredths of a second separating them from German Johannes Lochner in second.

But it was the Canadian Kripps who ultimately slid into bronze after disappointing runs by Lochner, Russian Rotislav Gaitiukevich, American Hunter Church and Austria's Benjamin Maier.

Familiar faces graced the podium in the two-women competition, with European champion Laura Nolte taking the top step for a second straight week in 1:46:71.

Nolte's sixth two-woman World Cup victory saw the 23-year-old, who teamed up with Deborah Levi, celebrating with second-placed compatriots Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig, who finished just 0.06 behind Nolte for silver.

Bronze - in another repeat of last weekend - went to Canada's Christine de Bruin with Kristen Bujnowski, who finished 0.15 seconds behind the leaders.

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