LILLEHAMMER, Norway — In a remarkable display of skill, Johannes Lochner from Germany claimed victory in a four-man World Cup bobsled event on Sunday, surpassing Francesco Friedrich in the second heat. This marks Lochner’s first triumph in this season’s series, demonstrating a strong performance that has positioned him as a formidable competitor.

Friedrich secured second place, which enabled him to maintain his lead in the overall World Cup rankings for four-man bobsled, now holding a 61-point advantage over Britain’s Brad Hall, who finished third in the race. Meanwhile, Frank del Duca represented the U.S. team with a commendable 10th-place result.

Earlier in the day, the German team once again showcased their dominance in the two-woman race, with Laura Nolte taking a significant step towards capturing her third consecutive overall World Cup title. Nolte, alongside teammate Leonie Kluwig, earned the gold medal, while Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig secured silver, and Lisa Buckwitz partnered with Kira Lipperheide to claim bronze.

With this victory, Nolte raised her win count to four in six two-woman races this season, establishing a commanding 75-point lead over Kalicki in the overall standings. To secure the title in the upcoming finale next weekend, Nolte will only need to finish ninth. Across the season, Germany has captured 17 out of the 18 available medals in two-woman events, with Kaysha Love of the U.S. being the sole exception when she snagged a bronze in Sigulda, Latvia, on December 15.

The top U.S. performers in the two-woman race on Sunday were Elana Meyers Taylor and Jasmine Jones, who crossed the finish line in seventh place.

In terms of future plans, USA Bobsled announced that they will forgo participation in the final World Cup event in Lillehammer next weekend. Instead, the team plans to return to Lake Placid, New York, a week earlier than scheduled to focus on training for the world championships in bobsled and skeleton set to take place there in early March.

Looking ahead, the next bobsled competitions include the World Cup women’s monobob and two-man races on Saturday in Lillehammer, followed by the men’s and women’s skeleton world championships from March 6-7 in Lake Placid. Additionally, the luge competition will feature men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and men’s singles on Saturday in Pyeongchang, South Korea.