Francesco Friedrich (born 2 May 1990) is a German bobsledder who has been active since 2006. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, he and his brakeman Thorsten Margis tied with Canada's Justin Kripps and Alexander Kopacz for the gold medal in the two-man competition.[3] Friedrich also won gold outright in the four-man event alongside Margis, Candy Bauer and Martin Grothkopp, making Friedrich the fifth German pilot to win two-man and four-man golds at the same Games, after Andreas Ostler in 1952, Meinhard Nehmer in 1976, Wolfgang Hoppe in 1984 and André Lange in 2006.[4] At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, Friedrich and Margis again won the gold medal with both sleighs. Friedrich previously competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in the doubles and fours and finished in eighth and tenth place, respectively.[2]

Francesco Friedrich
Friedrich in 2022
Personal information
NationalityGerman
Born (1990-05-02) 2 May 1990 (age 33)[1]
Pirna, East Germany[2]
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Weight96 kg (212 lb)[1]
Sport
CountryGermany
SportBobsleigh
Event(s)Two-man, Four-man
ClubSC Oberbärenburg
Turned pro2006[1]
Medal record
Men's bobsleigh
Representing  Germany
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Pyeongchang Two-man
Gold medal – first place 2018 Pyeongchang Four-man
Gold medal – first place 2022 Beijing Two-man
Gold medal – first place 2022 Beijing Four-man
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2011 Königssee Mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2013 St. Moritz Two-man
Gold medal – first place 2015 Winterberg Two-man
Gold medal – first place 2015 Winterberg Mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2016 Igls Two-man
Gold medal – first place 2017 Königssee Two-man
Gold medal – first place 2017 Königssee Four-man
Gold medal – first place 2019 Whistler Two-man
Gold medal – first place 2019 Whistler Four-man
Gold medal – first place 2020 Altenberg Two-man
Gold medal – first place 2020 Altenberg Four-man
Gold medal – first place 2021 Altenberg Two-man
Gold medal – first place 2021 Altenberg Four-man
Gold medal – first place 2023 St. Moritz Four-man
Gold medal – first place 2024 Winterberg Two-man
Gold medal – first place 2024 Winterberg Four-man
Silver medal – second place 2013 St. Moritz Mixed team
Silver medal – second place 2016 Igls Four-man
Silver medal – second place 2023 St. Moritz Two-man
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 La Plagne Two-man
Gold medal – first place 2017 Winterberg Two-man
Gold medal – first place 2018 Igls Two-man
Gold medal – first place 2019 Königssee Two-man
Gold medal – first place 2021 Winterberg Two-man
Gold medal – first place 2021 Winterberg Four-man
Gold medal – first place 2022 St. Moritz Two-man
Gold medal – first place 2024 Igls Four-man
Silver medal – second place 2015 La Plagne Four-man
Silver medal – second place 2018 Igls Four-man
Silver medal – second place 2020 Winterberg Four-man
Silver medal – second place 2022 St. Moritz Four-man
Silver medal – second place 2023 Altenberg Four-man
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Igls Two-man
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Königssee Four-man
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Königssee Four-man
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Altenberg Two-man

He is the most successful athlete of the IBSF World Championships winning his first gold medal in the 2011 Königssee mixed team event. Between 2017 and 2021, he won all IBSF World Championships, two-man and four-man, increasing his number of titles to 13.

Career results edit

Olympic Games edit

Event Two-man Four-man
Representing   Germany
  2014 Sochi 6th[a] 8th[a]
  2018 Pyeongchang 1st[b] 1st
  2022 Beijing 1st 1st
  1. ^ a b Improved 2 ranks after disqualification of Russian bobs
  2. ^ Shared gold with Justin Kripps.

World Championships edit

Event Two-man Four-man Team
Representing   Germany
  2011 Königssee 11th 1st
  2012 Lake Placid 4th 9th
  2013 St. Moritz 1st 13th 2nd
  2015 Winterberg 1st 4th 1st
  2016 Innsbruck 1st 2nd
  2017 Königssee 1st 1st[a]
  2019 Whistler 1st 1st
  2020 Altenberg 1st 1st
  2021 Altenberg 1st 1st
  2023 St. Moritz 2nd 1st
  2024 Winterberg 1st 1st
  1. ^ Shared gold with Johannes Lochner.

Bobsleigh World Cup edit

Two-man edit

Season Points Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
2011–12 27th 304  
 
 
 
 
 
DSQ
 
11
 
7
2012–13 6th 1369  
3
 
3
 
3
 
 
 
1
 
3
 
3
 
10
2013–14 3rd 1400  
6
 
3
 
7
 
9
 
5
 
3
 
4
 
12
2014–15 4th 1429  
1
 
2
 
5
 
7
 
4
 
1
 
1
 
2015–16 6th 1275  
1
 
1
 
1
 
8
 
DNF
 
16
 
10
 
3
2016–17 1st 1545  
1
 
 
1
 
1
 
2
 
2
 
1
 
1
2017–18 2nd 1504  
9
 
9
 
13
 
2
 
1
 
2
 
2
 
1
2018–19 1st 1800  
1
 
1
 
1
 
1
 
1
 
1
 
1
 
1
2019–20 1st 1530  
2
 
1
 
1
 
1
 
1
 
2
 
2
 
2020–21 1st 2685  
1
 
1
 
1
 
1
 
2
 
1
 
1
 
1
 
1
 
1
 
1
 
1
2021–22 1st 1703  
1
 
1
 
1
 
1
 
12
 
1
 
1
 
1
2022–23 2nd 1656  
1
 
1
 
2
 
6
 
3
 
3
 
2
 
2
2023–24 1st 1675  
2
 
3
 
2
 
2
 
2
 
3
 
2
 
1

Four-man edit

Season Points Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2011–12 27th 272  
 
 
 
 
 
10
 
 
12
2012–13 19th 624  
5
 
13
 
10
 
 
 
 
 
 
6
2013–14 7th 1400  
13
 
15
 
14
 
2
 
2
 
11
 
9
 
5
2014–15 5th 1310  
14
 
2
 
6
 
4
 
2
 
3
 
2
 
2015–16 2nd 1570  
1
 
1
 
4
 
6
 
7
 
4
 
4
 
3
2016–17 7th 1224  
12
 
 
3
 
5
 
3
 
5
 
4
 
11
2017–18 2nd 1468  
9
 
4
 
12
 
3
 
3
 
2
 
2
 
6
2018–19 1st 1727  
2
 
1
 
1
 
3
 
1
 
1
 
4
 
1
2019–20 1st 1686  
4
 
3
 
1
 
2
 
1
 
1
 
1
 
5
2020–21 1st 900  
1
 
1
 
1
 
1
2021–22 1st 1785  
1
 
1
 
1
 
1
 
1
 
1
 
1
 
2
2022–23 1st 1737  
1
 
1
 
2
 
1
 
4
 
2
 
1
 
1
2023–24 1st 1745  
2
 
3
 
1
 
1
 
2
 
1
 
1
 
1

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Francesco Friedrich". IBSF. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b Francesco Friedrich Archived 2 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
  3. ^ "Canada's Kripps, Kopacz tie Germany for 2-man bobsleigh gold". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 19 February 2018. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Germany's Francesco Friedrich wins four-man bobsledding gold". BT Sport ESPN. 25 February 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.

External links edit