Francesco Friedrich adds to bobsled legend with another World Championships sweep
German Francesco Friedrich won a record-extending 16th men's bobsled world title, while Laura Nolte led a German medals sweep of the two-woman event to end the World Championships in Lake Placid, New York.
Friedrich drove to a seventh consecutive title in the four-man event, defeating rival countryman Johannes Lochner's sled by 28 hundredths combining times from three runs.
A British sled driven by Brad Hall took bronze, 64 hundredths ahead of American Frank Del Duca's sled.
Del Duca drove to fourth-place finishes in both the two- and four-man events in Lake Placid. The U.S. last won a world medal in a men's bobsled event in 2013.
Worlds are usually four runs, but one of Friday's first two runs was canceled after it was held because a section of a curve was missing ice, causing Lochner's sled to run over concrete. Lochner was initially granted a re-run, but due to rising temperatures and the time required for proper preparation, a jury concluded that track conditions would not have been fair for Lochner. So the entire run was canceled instead.
Friedrich swept the two- and four-man events at worlds for the sixth time in the last seven editions. He also took gold in both events at the last two Olympics. No other driver has won more than nine world titles.
Friedrich, 34, said in 2022 that he would make the 2026 Milan Cortina Games the last competition of his career. Then he said last weekend that he'll wait to make a final decision on retirement.
In 2026, he can break the record for most Olympic bobsled gold medals (four) that he currently shares with retired countrymen Andre Lange and Kevin Kuske, plus Thorsten Margis.
Margis was in Friedrich's sleds at the last two Olympics, then switched to Lochner's team last fall (though he didn't compete this season).
Later Saturday, the 2022 Olympic champion Nolte added her first two-woman world title to her monobob crowns from 2023 and 2024.
Nolte and Deborah Levi prevailed by 52 hundredths over Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig and by 1.46 seconds over Lisa Buckwitz and Kira Lipperheide. The same three German drivers swept the medals last year, with Buckwitz taking gold.
American sleds finished fourth (Kaillie Humphries and Emily Renna), fifth (Kaysha Love and Jasmine Jones) and sixth (Elana Meyers Taylor and Lolo Jones).
Humphries, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, returned to competition this season after having son Aulden on June 14.
Love, who switched from push athlete to driver after the 2022 Olympics, was the lone non-German bobsledder to take gold at these worlds, winning last weekend's monobob.
Meyers Taylor, a five-time Olympic medalist, is in her second season back since having her second son, Noah, in November 2022.
NBC Sports' Dan Meyer contributed to this report.
-
Francesco Friedrich of Germany wins 16th world bobsled championship, taking 4-man in Lake Placid
Francesco Friedrich won every championship he could in bobsledding this season. The German great is now a world champion for the 16th time, capping off his seventh four-man world title on Saturday ...Yahoo Sports - 1d -
Francesco Friedrich of Germany wins 16th world bobsled championship, taking 4-man in Lake Placid
Francesco Friedrich won every championship he could in bobsledding this seasonABC News - 1d -
Friedrich leads 4-man world bobsled title race as weather takes its toll on Lake Placid track
Germany’s Francesco Friedrich is well on his way to another world bobsled title. The second heat of the four-heat race was canceled — after it had been run in its entirety — Friday because of ...Yahoo Sports - 2d -
Germans hold 1-2-3 spots midway through 2-man world bobsled championship, with US in medal hunt
Take the season’s biggest races in the sliding sports of bobsled, skeleton and luge, meaning either the Olympics or the world championships, and there have been 59 instances of sliders from one ...ABC News - Mar. 8 -
Revealed – Why Inter Milan Won’t Take Francesco Pio Esposito To FIFA Club World Cup Despite Big Future Plans
Inter Milan will not bring Francesco Pio Esposito to the Club World Cup as he’ll be in action at the Under-21 Euros with Italy.This according to today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tutt...Yahoo Sports - 3d -
Rochester marathoner ate 'whatever he wants' and broke a Guinness world record
Slow and steady was the mantra of this Rochester athlete who held the record for most marathons finished for four years.Yahoo Sports - 3d -
GB clinch bobsleigh bronze at World Championships
Great Britain secure just their second World Championships medal in four-man bobsleigh in 86 years, taking bronze in Lake Placid.Yahoo Sports - 1d -
Italy's Paris wins World Cup downhill to prevent Swiss sweep, Odermatt closes in on overall title
Italian veteran Dominik Paris has prevented a Swiss sweep of the podium by winning a men’s World Cup downhill raceABC News - Mar. 7 -
Canada dominates World Short Track Speed Skating Championships
Canada won six of the nine events at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships.Yahoo Sports - 1d
More from Yahoo Sports
-
Georgia football freshman WR suffers ankle injury, needs surgery
Georgia true freshman WR Tyler Williams suffered torn ligaments in his ankle, likely taking him out for the rest of Georgia's spring practices.Yahoo Sports - 18m -
Sixers vs. Rockets game preview: How to watch, lineups, broadcast info
The Philadelphia 76ers continue the road trip on Monday as they take on the Houston Rockets on the second night of a back-to-back.Yahoo Sports - 18m -
Derek Carr and Saints relationship may be deteriorating amid latest report
Derek Carr reportedly wanting to test free agency is a sign of a deteriorating relationship between him and the Saints.Yahoo Sports - 19m -
“I’ll tell you” – Pep Guardiola reveals what Manchester City would make of Europa League football for 2025/26 term
Manchester City would hold a feeling of ‘disappointment’ if they only managed to secure UEFA Europa League football next season, Pep Guardiola has admitted.The reigning English champions are facin...Yahoo Sports - 19m -
Calipari's message to freshmen in NCAA Tournament: 'Stay in the moment'
The Arkansas Razorbacks had to wait until almost the end of the Selection Show to hear their names called, but they're going to the NCAA Tournament as a 10-seed and will play 7-seed Kansas in the ...Yahoo Sports - 19m
More in Sports
-
MLB's villains or its gold standard? How the Los Angeles Dodgers got here
Love them or loathe them, the defending champs built a new evil empire with a series of monumental moves.ESPN - 15m -
Georgia football freshman WR suffers ankle injury, needs surgery
Georgia true freshman WR Tyler Williams suffered torn ligaments in his ankle, likely taking him out for the rest of Georgia's spring practices.Yahoo Sports - 18m -
Sixers vs. Rockets game preview: How to watch, lineups, broadcast info
The Philadelphia 76ers continue the road trip on Monday as they take on the Houston Rockets on the second night of a back-to-back.Yahoo Sports - 18m -
Derek Carr and Saints relationship may be deteriorating amid latest report
Derek Carr reportedly wanting to test free agency is a sign of a deteriorating relationship between him and the Saints.Yahoo Sports - 19m -
Calipari's message to freshmen in NCAA Tournament: 'Stay in the moment'
The Arkansas Razorbacks had to wait until almost the end of the Selection Show to hear their names called, but they're going to the NCAA Tournament as a 10-seed and will play 7-seed Kansas in the ...Yahoo Sports - 19m