ALTENBERG, Germany — In a remarkable display of talent, Francesco Friedrich from Germany achieved his milestone 80th World Cup victory on Saturday, partnering with newcomer Simon Wulff to win the inaugural two-man bobsled race of the season.
Friedrich now boasts an impressive total of 133 World Cup medals across his career, which includes competitions in the four-man category. Out of 188 races, he has clinched victory in 48 of the 100 two-man events he has competed in. Notably, this was Wulff’s first foray into a World Cup event.
The German duo’s success led to a complete sweep of the podium in the two-man race, with Johannes Lochner and Georg Fleischhauer taking the second position, while Adam Ammour and Issam Ammour secured third place.
Later in the day, the women’s monobob competition saw defending Olympic champion Kaillie Humphries from the U.S. make her return to World Cup sliding just under six months after welcoming her first child. In her first race since February 2023, Humphries finished seventh, outperforming her three fellow American teammates.
The gold and silver in the monobob discipline were claimed by Germany, with Laura Nolte finishing first and Lisa Buckwitz in second. Romania’s Andreea Grecu took home the bronze medal.
The excitement in Altenberg continues with the two-woman and four-man events scheduled for Sunday.
In other news from the luge competitions, USA Luge achieved notable results in Igls, Austria, where Emily Sweeney finished fourth in the women’s race. Meanwhile, the women’s doubles duo of Chevonne Forgan and Sophie Kirkby placed fifth in their respective event.
Austria had a dominating performance, winning four out of the nine medals awarded on Saturday, with Germany securing three and Latvia claiming two medals.
Madeleine Egle from Austria took the top position in the women’s race on her home track, finishing ahead of Germany’s Julia Taubitz in second and fellow Austrian Lisa Schulte in third place.
In the men’s doubles category, the Latvian pair of Martins Bots and Roberts Plume triumphed, followed closely by Germany’s Toni Eggert and Florian Mueller in second, while the Austrian team of Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl rounded out the top three.
In the women’s doubles event, Austria’s Selina Egle and Lara Kipp emerged victorious, with Germany’s Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal finishing second, and Latvia’s Anda Upite alongside Zane Kaluma taking third.
The competition continues on Sunday with men’s singles and team relay races scheduled to take place.