'We don’t want a smaller bobsleigh family' - German Francesco Friedrich funds rival team Austria

German bobsledder Francesco Friedrich — who is the most successful pilot in World Cup history — says he helped Austrian rider Benjamin Maier with financial support to avoid the “bobsleigh family” getting smaller. The pair will be rivals on the track when they compete for Olympic success in Beijing. Ad/> In fact, Maier was just 0.2 seconds slower than Friedrich in the two-man training heats, but he may not have been able to compete had it not been for the German.

Beijing 2022Francesco Friedrich suffers rare bobsleigh defeat in final Beijing 2022 prelude16/01/2022 AT 17:59 “Bobsleigh is a very expensive sport and you need a lot of sponsors”, Maier told Eurosport. “A couple of years ago we did not have any sponsors and we were struggling to finance our season, so we started a crowdfunding campaign”, he said. Olympics Unlocked: Why sprinters thrive at the Bobsleigh Francesco Friedrich suffers rare bobsleigh defeat in final Beijing 2022 prelude Beijing 2022 Olympic Games: Schedule, big names, key events and more Having heard about their plea for funds, Friedrich wanted to get involved, saying “he needed to have the money for his season, so we give a donation to him.

After the donation, it’s getting a little bit higher for sponsorship.” The relationship between the pair — who were both flag carriers for their countries at the opening ceremony — has continued to grow, with a more permanent arrangement now in place. “Back then Francesco started, more out of a joke, to support us. Then we got talking, and talking, and it kind of developed into an actual sponsorship.