Germany’s sleds ruled the track in Konigssee (GER) at the fourth of eight stops on the 2018-19 IBSF World Cup, with Francesco Friedrich keeping his perfect records intact.
Already the Olympic champ in both the two-man and four-man races in PyeongChang, Friedrich won the two-man by 0.11 over last season’s World Cup winner, Justin Kripps of Canada. He then came back on Sunday to win a bronze medal in the four-man, just 0.22 behind the winning German sled piloted by Johannes Lochner and 0.04 out of second place, won by Oskars Kibermanis for Latvia.
That gives Friedrich a perfect record – four races, four wins – in the two-man and he’s won a medal in all four four-man races this season. That makes him the only person to win medals in all eight men’s races this season!
In the women’s racing, Germany’s Mariama Jamanka won her third race out of four this season with another victory, this time by 0.36 over the hard-charging Elana Meyers Taylor (with Lake Kwaza aboard) of the U.S. Jamanka and Annika Drazek won both heats; Meyers Taylor and Kwaza relied on consistency, finishing third in the first run and then second on the final.
“I love this track,” Meyers Taylor said. “I love the crowd here, the atmosphere makes it so much fun. When I’m having fun, I drive well, and that’s the key.
“I made some mistakes in the first run that cost us some time, but we put it together for the second run and got some time back. Our starts are getting better and we’re making gains, slowly but surely. The goal is to put things together by World Championships in March.”
After being disqualified in their first race in Innsbruck, Meyers Taylor and Kwaza have finished bronze-bronze-silver. Summaries:
IBSF World Cup
Konigssee (GER) ~ 11-13 January 2019
(Full results here)
Men’s 2: 1. Francesco Friedrich/Martin Grothkopp (GER), 1:39.01; 2. Justin Kripps/Cameron Stones (CAN), 1:39.12; 3. Johannes Lochner/Christian Rasp (GER), 1:39.44; 4. Romain Heinrich/Dorian Hauterville (FRA), 1:39.53; 5. Nico Walther/Paul Krenz (GER), 1:39.65. Also: 16. Codie Bascue/Hakeem Abdul-Saboor (USA), 1:40.48; … 18. Justin Olsen/Blaine McConnell (USA), 1:40.60.
Men’s 4: 1. Germany (Johannes Lochner), 1:37.74; 2. Latvia (Oskars Kibermanis), 1:37.92; 3. Germany (Francesco Friedrich), 1:37.96; 4. Russia (Maxim Andrianov), 1:38.43; 5. Canada (Justin Kripps), 1:38.61. Also: 15. United States (Codie Bascue), 1:39.23; … 18. United States (Justin Olsen), 1:39.41.
Women’s 2: 1. Mariama Jamanka/Annika Drazek (GER), 1:41.70; 2. Elana Meyers Taylor/Lake Kwaza (USA), 1:42.06; 3. Stephanie Schneider/Ann-Christin Strack (GER), 1:42.19; 4. Katrin Beierl/Jennifer Onasanya (AUT), 1:42.69; 5. Andreea Grecu/Teodora Andreea Vlad (ROU), 1:42.71. Also: 14. Brittany Reinbolt/Lauren Gibbs (USA), 1:43.79.
