Francesco Friedrich wins third World Cup gold on the spin with blazing second run
BySportsbeat
Updated 05/01/2019 at 20:17 GMT
Germany's Francesco Friedrich captured his third consecutive two-man bobsleigh gold medal after a blazing second run with Thorsten Margis in the World Cup in Altenberg.
Olympiasieger Friedrich: "Natürlich bin ich schon geblitzt worden"
Image credit: Eurosport
The two-time Winter Olympic champion topped the World Cup podium for the 21st time despite sitting in third place behind Justin Kripps and Cameron Stones after the first run.
Canadian duo Kripps and Stones led Oskars Kibermanis and Matiss Miknis of Latvia by 0.07 seconds after the opening heat, with Friedrich and Margis 0.08 seconds back.
But the German pairing held their nerve to deliver a scorching second run to emerge victorious by 0.37 seconds over Kripps and Stones, with Kibermanis and Miknis slipping down to third.
Friedrich's gold medal was his third World Cup win in three starts this season, following his back-to-back wins in Sigulda before Christmas, maintaining his lead at the top of the overall standings.
The World Champion moves onto 675 points after three races, with Kibermanis his closest rival on 620 points and Nico Walther, also of Germany, third in the standings with 560 points.
Walther finished fourth in Altenberg with Paul Krenz in an overall time of 1:52.73, 0.54 seconds behind Friedrich and Thorsten's winning time of 1:52.19.
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement