Friedrich Wins 4-man Opener in Igls

From Igls, AUT

(November 21, 2021) – For the first time in a few races, it was a close race in men’s bobsled, at least for a while.

Francesco Friedrich held just a .08 second advantage over teammate Johannes Lochner after one heat, with Great Britain’s Brad Hall only .12 back in third.

On the second run Hall came down first among the medal contenders, and set what would be the second quickest run of the heat. Lochner was next, and while his run was clean he didn’t appear to have the pace he had in the first heat. As the German crossed the line, he found himself tied with Hall for the lead, with only Friedrich to go.

Friedrich’s second run didn’t give him his traditional massive lead, but it was plenty enough to give him his fifth straight four-man bobsled gold medal. Lochner and Hall tied for silver.

The silver medal for Hall was his first, and the best four-man bobsled finish for Great Britain since Lamin Deen’s gold medal in 2017 (Whistler).

Benjamin Maier finished fourth on his home track, well ahead of Latvia’s Oskars Kibermanis in fifth. Canada’s Justin Kripps set the fourth fastest run of the second heat to jump up from 11th to sixth.

For the second day in a row, the American men showed that they’re moving in the right direction. Hunter Church set the fifth quickest time in the first heat. On the second run one of his crew members slipped getting in the sled, and that plus a couple of early mistakes dropped him down to eighth. Teammate Codie Bascue finished 14th after finishing fifth a day prior in two-man bobsled.

Chris Spring once again moved up in his second heat, this time from 15th to 13th.

Lamin Deen missed the second heat by a tenth of a second, finishing 21st.

Results: