LILLEHAMMER, Norway — Francesco Friedrich added two more World Cup bobsled overall titles to his illustrious career on Sunday, marking his 21st and 22nd championships. His performance included a second-place finish in the four-man race, which was sufficient for him to secure his seventh consecutive season title in that event, as well as his eighth overall World Cup crown. He had already clinched his seventh title in the two-man event a day earlier.
Friedrich’s career statistics continue to impress: he has amassed 147 World Cup race medals, secured four Olympic golds, and achieved 14 gold medals at world championships. The talented athlete will seek to enhance these numbers further when the bobsled world championships occur in Lake Placid, New York, during the first two weeks of March 2025.
Reflecting on his successful season, Friedrich commented, “The whole season was very good. We stand on the podium, we did a great job on the start. Sometimes I don’t even get the best line, but yes, we were good the whole season.” On Sunday, fellow German competitor Johannes Lochner took the top spot in the four-man race, solidifying his second-place finish in the overall standings for the season. Friedrich’s second-place finish matched his season-long standing, with Britain’s Brad Hall taking third place.
“It’s such a fantastic and beautiful sport,” Friedrich expressed, highlighting the camaraderie among competitors. “With the guys, it’s so fun every week. We did our best every week.” In the women’s two-woman race on the same day, Germany’s Laura Nolte claimed victory, marking her fifth win of the season, which secured her overall title in the event. Following her were compatriot Lisa Buckwitz in second place and Canada’s Melissa Lotholz in third.
In the sport of luge, Germany and Austria dominated the final day of the World Cup held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, sweeping all nine medals available. In women’s singles, Austria’s Lisa Schulte took the top spot, edging out fellow competitors Merle Fraebel from Germany and Hannah Prock from Austria. In mixed singles, Schulte teamed up with Wolfgang Kindl to clinch first place, while Max Langenhan and Fraebel captured the second position. The German duo of Felix Loch and Julia Taubitz finished third.
The mixed doubles event saw the German team of Toni Eggert and Florian Mueller for the men, along with Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal for the women, emerge victorious. Austria secured the runner-up position with Kindl and Thomas Steu for the men and Selina Egle and Lara Kipp for the women. The German team secured a second position in the rankings with Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt competing in the men’s category, while Dajana Eitberger and Magadalena Matschina represented the women.
On the U.S. side, the athletes finished in sixth place across three events: Zach Di Gregorio, Sean Hollander, Chevonne Forgan, and Sophia Kirkby in mixed doubles; Tucker West and Ashley Farquharson in mixed singles; and Farquharson again in the women’s singles race.
Looking ahead, the upcoming luge events include men’s and women’s doubles at Yanqing, China, on Saturday, and men’s singles and team relay events on Sunday. The skeleton championships will kick off with Day 1 for both men and women in Lake Placid on March 6, followed by the bobsled competition featuring the women’s monobob and two-man events commencing on March 8.
