Winter Olympics 2022 - Francesco Friedrich guides German four-man crew to victory to repeat double gold medal feat

The German bobsleigh team led by Francesco Friedrich won gold in the four-man event as compatriot Johannes Lochner’s squad finished second for a German one-two. Friedrich repeated his Pyeongchang 2018 feat as he secured double Olympic bobsleigh gold for a second time, becoming the first athlete ever to defend both the four-man and the two-man titles.

Ad/> Justin Kripps' Canadian team secured a bronze medal, whilst Team GB’s only bobsleigh unit, piloted by Brad Hall, finished in a respectable sixth. Beijing 2022GB crash as dominant Friedrich retains two-man bobsleigh title in German 1-2-315/02/2022 AT 14:54 The dominant Friedrich’s lead German unit were first out onto the ice to get the third heat underway, and capitalised on their good form over the opening heats registering a speedy time of 58.17 seconds to pile the pressure on those around them.

Germany's second team piloted by Johannes Lochner — who went in overnight in second place — couldn’t make up ground on their compatriots with a time of 58.34s which saw Friedrich’s extend their lead by 0.17s. However, confidence grew in the German camp in the hope of a one-two after Canada dropped further behind Lochner’s crew in second.

Great Britain gave themselves a chance of their best finish after their third run but pilot Hall seemed disappointed as the British sled crossed the finish line, their time of 58.65 meant they fell further away from the podium places by over half a second. Hall's hopes of a top six finish were strengthened though when the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) 1 — led by Rostislav Gaitiukevich — lost 0.16s on Hall’s sled.