Christoph Hafer second in Altenberg ahead of Justin Kripps in third place
Altenberg (RWH) 2-man bobsleigh Olympic Champion Francesco Friedrich ends 2021 undefeated in the small sled. In all races this year - eight BMW IBSF World Cups, the BMW IBSF World Championships and the Olympic test at the Yanqing Sliding Center (CHN) - the winner was Francesco Friedrich. Overall, the record World Champion's winning streak has been going on for more than a year: on 12 December 2020, he last finished second behind team-mate Johannes Lochner.
At the BMW IBSF World Cup in Altenberg (GER) Friedrich with push athlete Thorsten Margis won the fifth race of the Olympic winter ahead of Christoph Hafer with Issam Ammour (GER, 0.22 seconds back). For Hafer, second place is the best World Cup result so far.
Third place in Altenberg went to Justin Kripps (CAN, 0.31 seconds back) with Cam Stones. In 2018 in PyeongChang, Friedrich and Kripps had tied for Olympic gold in the 2-man bobsleigh.
The second Canadian sled at the start of the BMW IBSF World Cup in Altenberg, Chris Spring/Mike Evelyn, finished fourth. Spring missed his first podium finish since December 2017 by 0.02 seconds.
Switzerland's Simon Friedli/Andreas Haas celebrated their best result in more than a year in fifth place. In November 2020, Friedli had finished third at the BMW IBSF World Cup in Sigulda (LAT).
In the overall ranking of the BMW IBSF World Cup 2021/2022 Francesco Friedrich (GER, 900 points) is still leading ahead of Johannes Lochner (GER, 774). The World Cup silver medallist finished tenth in Altenberg and maintained a narrow lead over Justin Kripps (CAN, 768).
For more detailed information including athlete profiles and results please visit ibsf.org. Photos for editorial use can be found at Flickr. ©RWH2021
Photos: IBSF / Viesturs Lacis
