German bobsleigh king Francesco Friedrich on a record-breaking mission
The indomitable Friedrich has demonstrated that the comeback is greater than the setback after bouncing back from Sochi 2014 flop to PyeongChang 2018 double Olympic gold. We look at Friedrich's achievements, disappointments and prospects for Beijing 2022, which begin on 4 February.
Bobsleigh
Francesco Friedrich rose from the ashes of a disastrous Sochi 2014 to lead Germany's bobsleigh revival.
His Olympic debut in 2014 coincided with Germany's worst bobsleigh performance in half a century, with the powerhouse of the sport failing to win a single medal in Sochi.
Friedrich, or Franz as he is known, channelled the bitter disappointment of finishing eighth in the two-man and 10th in the four-man competition into restoring the status quo at PyeongChang 2018. Germany bowed out of the showpiece in the Republic of Korea with gold and silver in the four-man bob, gold in the two-man competition and gold in the two-woman sleigh.
"Franz is a talent that you only see once every hundred years. He has everything needed to make bobsleigh history over the years to come; he is capable of putting his failures behind him and drawing astute conclusions from them," said his coach Gerd Leopold in 2015, when Francesco won his second world two-man bob title in Winterberg.
Leopold's words proved prophetic, with the insanely talented Friedrich delivering on the promise he showed as a youngster.
Since Sochi 2014, Friedrich has blossomed into one of the greatest bobsleigh athletes in history, winning the double gold in PyeongChang 2018 and amassing a record 11 world titles.
Early beginnings
Friedrich demonstrated a natural flair for piloting a bobsleigh and an insatiable appetite for the top step of the podium. A 20-year-old Friedrich won the junior world title in the two-man bob and silver in the four-man competition in 2011.
He continued his meteoric rise, becoming the youngest world champion two years later when he drove to the gold medal in the two-man event in St Moritz in 2013.
"Now, I am up there among the best," said Friedrich.
Friedrich hit the skids in Sochi 2014, which ultimately served as the driving force for his dominance in the sport over the next seven years.
Reaching new heights
Friedrich has been in rampant form since Sochi, demolishing records and setting a new bar for the sport.
Among his many accomplishments, his piece de resistance remains his double-gold performance in PyeongChang 2018. Friedrich became only the sixth bobsleigh pilot to win two gold medals at the same Olympic Winter Games.
In the two-man event, Friedrich and brakeman Thorsten Margis shared the spoils with Canadian Justin Kripps, courtesy of a brave fightback from fifth place after the first two heats. On his third run, Friedrich set a track record and clocked the fastest time on his fourth for a tied first place.
The German pilot and his crew were in a class of their own in the four-man competition clocking the three fastest times on three of their four runs to win by more than a half-second.
The 30-year-old has not lost a world championship in the two-man bobsleigh since 2013, winning a seventh consecutive global title in his pet event in Altenburg in 2021. He is the only man to achieve this feat.
The German police officer has been equally impressive in the four-man bob, winning his first world title in the event in Konigssee in 2017. He won his fourth gold at the 2021 world championships, marking his 11th individual world title (two-man or four-man) and 13th overall, including two mixed-team victories.
The 2021 season capped one of the most dominant seasons by any athlete in any event, with Friedrich bowing with only one defeat in 40 heats.
The man to beat
The indomitable German has shown no sign of slowing down ahead of Beijing 2022 concluding the Bobsleigh World Cup season as the overall champion in the two-man and four-man bobsleigh competitions.
Friedrich, who boasted an unbeaten record in 2021, suffered a rare defeat at the beginning of this year when he finished 12th in Sigulda. While it was his worst result since 2017, Friedrich bowed out of the series with his fifth overall victory.
He also came painstakingly close to keeping a clean sheet in the four-man bob, winning seven out of eight competitions. Although Friedrich stumbled at the final event of the campaign, finishing in second place, he still claimed his fourth overall World Cup title in the event.
Friedrich remains the overwhelming favourite heading into Beijing 2022 and is on the cusp of becoming the first male to win back-to-back two-man and four-man titles at the Olympics.
Compatriot Johannes Lochner, Kripps and the ROC's Rostislav Gaitiukevich will be among the top contenders looking to topple Friedrich in Beijing. Gaitiukevich won the two-man title in Sigulda and was the only pilot other than Friedrich to win a World Cup gold this season in the event.
Austria's Oskars Kibermanis is the only driver to beat the German in the four-man bobsleigh this season, demonstrating that even the great Friedrich is beatable on the day.
But Friedrich has made breaking records part of his DNA with the father of two sons looking to dominate the sport over the next two Winter Olympics.
“I give my best in every race, it’s so much fun for me. At the start of my career it (records) didn’t interest me,” Friedrich told the Olympic Channel.
“But now that we are getting better, you often look at the records (as motivation) and the goal for Beijing should be the double gold. When we set records we are very happy with that but we don’t lose sight of the goal.”