From Königssee, GER
Jan. 23, 2021 – For about an hour it looked like there might be a close race for gold in Königssee in two-man bobsled. Francesco Friedrich once again held the lead, but this only by .05 over teammate Johannes Lochner in a race where all through the field racing was incredibly tight.
But, Friedrich is the winningest bobsledder of all time for a reason, and once again he flexed his muscles in the second heat to pull away and win gold. Friedrich once again put together the two fastest heats of the race, winning by an impressive .2 over Lochner.
The win was Friedrich’s 36th in two-man bobsled competition. For Lochner, the silver was his 12th of his career.
Behind the two Germans, there was tight racing throughout the field including for the bronze medal. Austria’s Benjamin Maier came into the second heat just .07 ahead of Olympic gold medalist Justin Kripps. Kripps put down a solid second run, but was eclipsed by Maier’s second effort to give Maier the spot by .19.
The bronze for Maier was his fourth career World Cup two-man bobsled bronze.
Kripps finished fourth, just .05 ahead of Brad Hall of Great Britain. The fifth for Hall was his best ever finish in Königssee. Oskars Melbardis finished sixth.
Canada’s Christopher Spring helped put both Canadian sleds in the top ten with a tenth place finish. Spring was edged out by Yunjong Won by .03 in the second heat as part of a very tight race in the middle of the pack. The tenth place finish was Spring’s best effort in Königssee two-man competition since the 2013/2014 season.
Won’s ninth place finish comes in his first international start of the season.
Codie Bascue led the way for the United States with an 11th place finish, which was his best two-man bobsled finish in Königssee. His previous best was 15th in the 2014/2015 season. Teammate Geoff Gadbois finished 23rd in his first ever race in Königssee.
Great Britain’s Lamin Deen just missed out on the second heat with a 21st place finish.
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Friedrich / Margis | GER | 6 | 4.83 | 4.79 | 49.40 | 49.29 | 1:38.69 |
| 2 | Lochner / Franke | GER | 5 | 4.93 | 4.90 | 49.45 | 49.44 | 1:38.89 |
| 3 | Maier / Huber | AUT | 15 | 4.95 | 4.93 | 49.81 | 49.84 | 1:39.65 |
| 4 | Kripps / Stones | CAN | 19 | 4.93 | 4.94 | 49.88 | 49.96 | 1:39.84 |
| 5 | Hall / Cackett | GBR | 14 | 4.95 | 4.93 | 49.97 | 49.92 | 1:39.86 |
| 6 | Melbardis / Miknis | LAT | 7 | 4.96 | 4.93 | 49.96 | 49.94 | 1:39.90 |
| 7 | Hafer / Hammers | GER | 9 | 4.99 | 4.99 | 49.99 | 50.00 | 1:39.99 |
| 8 | Kuonen / Tanner | SUI | 24 | 4.99 | 4.95 | 50.03 | 50.06 | 1:40.09 |
| 9 | Won / Seo | KOR | 23 | 4.93 | 4.93 | 50.08 | 50.03 | 1:40.11 |
| 10 | Spring / Evelyn | CAN | 3 | 4.96 | 4.94 | 50.05 | 50.09 | 1:40.14 |
| 11 | Bascue / Horn | USA | 20 | 4.97 | 4.96 | 50.06 | 50.16 | 1:40.22 |
| 12 | Heinrcih / Hauterville | FRA | 10 | 4.98 | 5.00 | 50.15 | 50.08 | 1:40.23 |
| 13 | Gaitiukevich / Malykh | RUS | 12 | 4.91 | 4.93 | 50.18 | 50.06 | 1:40.24 |
| 14 | Dvorak / Suchy | CZE | 13 | 4.99 | 4.98 | 50.13 | 50.14 | 1:40.27 |
| 15 | Kibermanis / Dambis | LAT | 11 | 5.04 | 5.02 | 50.31 | 49.97 | 1:40.28 |
| 16 | Friedli / Fässler | SUI | 8 | 4.93 | 4.96 | 50.12 | 50.25 | 1:40.37 |
| 17 | Treichl / Glück | AUT | 17 | 5.02 | 5.05 | 50.27 | 50.26 | 1:40.53 |
| 18 | Stulnev / Belugin | RUS | 1 | 5.08 | 5.05 | 50.35 | 50.25 | 1:40.60 |
| 19 | Suk / Jang | KOR | 22 | 5.07 | 5.10 | 50.50 | 50.42 | 1:40.92 |
| 20 | Baumgartner / Verginer | ITA | 4 | 5.11 | 5.11 | 50.50 | 50.50 | 1:41:00 |
| 21 | Deen / Fearon | GBR | 18 | 5.03 | 50.53 | |||
| 22 | de Bruin / Franjic | NED | 16 | 4.99 | 50.65 | |||
| 23 | Gadbois / Adams | USA | 21 | 5.10 | 51.01 | |||
| 24 | Stephens / Wekpe | JAM | 2 | 5.16 | 51.23 |
