On the evening of February 15, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics decided the men's double bobsleigh champion at the National Bobsleigh Center "Snow Tour Dragon", and the German legend Francesco Friedrich led his partner Tolsten Maggis to win the championship with a total of 3 minutes 56.89 seconds in four rounds, successfully defending the title after the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
His compatriot Johannes Lochner/Florian Bauer finished second and another German duo, Kristof Hafar/Matthias Zome, finished third. This is the seventh gold medal won by the German delegation in the "Snow Dragon" in the "Snow Tour Dragon", and it is also the first time that a delegation has won a gold, silver and bronze medal in a single event.
The German team celebrates
China's Sun Kaizhi and Wu Qingze finished 14th with a total time of 4:00.29. Li Chunjian/Liu Wei ranked 22nd after 3 rounds, but missed the fourth round.
The 31-year-old Friedrich is recognized in the industry as the "big god" star helmsman and a distinguished leader, he is almost invincible in the double and four-man snowmobiling field, and he and his teammates won gold medals in both events at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. He is also the holder of 13 World Championship titles, including seven double bobsleigh titles. In the 2020-2021 season, he and his teammates competed in 16 double and quadruple bobsleigh races at the IBSF International Bobsleigh and Steel Frame Bobshoe Federation World Cup races, winning an amazing 15 gold medals.
Friedrich's fiery form also extended to the track of the "Snow Dragon". In the first two rounds of the game, he and brakeman Maggis tacitly cooperated, so that all opponents felt the absolute strength of the "big god". In the third round of the game on the evening of the 15th, Friedrich and Maggis showed a really high level, first with an explosive cart, to achieve the best starting time of 4.93 seconds. In the following many corners, Friedrich drove the snowmobile to the ground, and the time of 58.99 seconds once again set a new track record set by himself 24 hours ago.
His compatriot Lochner/Ball also played well, sliding 59.32 seconds in the third round to remain second. Hafer/Zomer, who finished fourth in the first two rounds, skated 59.51 seconds this round, successfully overtaking the Russian Olympic team and rising to third place.
In the fourth round, the current 17 pairs of players finished, the game lost suspense in advance, and the only thing that needed to be determined was the final ranking of the German players who started in the last 3 groups. Hafer/Zome slid out 59.70.00 seconds to finish 3:58.58 and lock in bronze. Lochner/Bauer slid out 59.53.03 seconds to lock up the silver medal with a total of 3:57.38. The last to appear, Friedrich/Maggis, did not live up to the expectations of the audience, using a near-perfect cornering route to maintain the lead all the way, and finally finished the race in 59.52 seconds, with a total time of 3:56.89.