Germany's Francesco Friedrich, Matthias Sommer, Alexander Schuller and Felix Straub celebrate after finishing their run in the fourth heat of the 4-man bobsled race during the bobsled world championships, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) — Francesco Friedrich won every championship he could in bobsledding this season.
The German great is now a world champion for the 16th time, capping off his seventh four-man world title on Saturday at Mount Van Hoevenberg on the final day of the international bobsled season.
This is the sixth time — all in the last seven seasons — that Friedrich has swept the World Cup season titles in both two- and four-man, plus swept those races at either the Olympics or the world championships that season.
Friedrich finished three runs — one of the scheduled four heats was canceled on Friday because of worsening track conditions as the air temperature rose — over two days in 2 minutes, 44.52 seconds.
Johannes Lochner of Germany was second in 2:44.80 and Brad Hall of Britain was third in 2:45.00. The top American sled was driven by Frank Del Duca, who finished fourth in 2:45.64, while Kris Horn of the U.S. drove to a seventh-place finish.
“The biggest thing was just having friends and family here,” Del Duca said after wrapping up worlds on his home track in Lake Placid. “Coming up the outrun and high-fiving them and hearing them cheer was really special. It was a great time.”
Friedrich capped another year when he was the best bobsledder in the world, winning medals in all 17 of his major international races (15 World Cups, plus the two-man and four-man events in Lake Placid). He won 10 golds, also best in the world this year, with six silvers and one bronze.
Lochner finished his year with 16 medals — six gold, seven silver and three bronze.
Women's bobsled
Laura Nolte is the world champion in two-woman bobsledding for the first time, and she led Germany’s second consecutive sweep of the world championship medals in that event.
Nolte — a two-time world monobob champion, plus an Olympic gold medalist — and Deborah Levi finished four runs over two days in 3:46.00. Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig were second in 3:46.52 and Lisa Buckwitz and Kira Lipperheide were third in 3:47.46.
The U.S. took the next three spots after the Germans. Kaillie Humphries — who had a huge fourth run — teamed with Emily Renna to finish fourth, just 0.06 seconds out of the medals. World monobob champion Kaysha Love and Jazmine Jones were fifth, followed by Elana Meyers Taylor and Lolo Jones in sixth.
It was Germany’s 11th time sweeping the medals in a world championship or Olympic bobsled race. It also happened last week in the two-man competition.
Medal standings
Germany claimed 73 of the 103 medals awarded in World Cup and world championship bobsledding this season, winning 28 of 34 races around the world. No other nation had more than nine bobsled medals; Britain and the U.S. both finished the season with that many.
Nolte had 14 medals on the season, two more than Buckwitz for the top spot in the world in 2024-25. Kalicki had seven and Love — the top American in the overall medal standings — finished the season with six.
Up next
The international sliding season is over, though some nations are still planning some internal events while weather allows. The first major news of the sliding offseason could be the announcement on whether Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, will play host to the Olympic sliding events or if they will take place in Lake Placid next February.
Cortina is scheduled to hold a homologation, or track testing, event later this month. It is unclear if that will happen as planned.
Germany's Deborah Levi, second from right, and Laura Nolte , right, celebrate with fans after winning the the 2-woman bobsled competition during the bobsled world championships, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Germany's Francesco Friedrich, Matthias Sommer, Alexander Schuller and Felix Straub celebrate after finishing their run in the fourth heat of the 4-man bobsled race during the bobsled world championships, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Germany's Francesco Friedrich, Matthias Sommer, Alexander Schuller and Felix Straub celebrate after finishing their run in the fourth heat of the 4-man bobsled race during the bobsled world championships, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Kaysha Love and Jasmine Jones, of the United States, make a run in the third heat of the 2-woman bobsled race during the bobsled world championships, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Kaillie Armbruster Humphries and Emily Renna, of the United States, make a run in the third heat of the 2-woman bobsled race during the bobsled world championships, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Canada's Cynthia Appiah and Skylar Sieben make a run in the third heat of the 2-woman bobsled race during the bobsled world championships, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Elana Meyers Taylor and Lolo Jones, of the United States, make a run in the third heat of the 2-woman bobsled race during the bobsled world championships, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Canada's Bianca Ribi and Niamh Haughey make a run in the third heat of the 2-woman bobsled race during the bobsled world championships, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Britain's Adele Nicoll and Ashleigh Nelson make a run in the third heat of the 2-woman bobsled race during the bobsled world championships, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Germany's Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi make a run in the third heat of the 2-woman bobsled race during the bobsled world championships, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Germany's Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig make a run in the third heat of the 2-woman bobsled race during the bobsled world championships, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Germany's Lisa Buckwitz and Kira Lipperheide make a run in the third heat of the 2-woman bobsled race during the bobsled world championships, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Germany's Deborah Levi, center left, and Laura Nolte celebrate after winning the the 2-woman bobsled competition during the bobsled world championships, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Germany's Deborah Levi, center left, and Laura Nolte celebrate after winning the the 2-woman bobsled competition during the bobsled world championships, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The German teams that won the top three spots in the 2-woman bobsled competition celebrate during the bobsled world championships, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. From left to right, are: second-place winners Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig, first-place winners Deborah Levi and Laura Nolte, and third-place winners Lisa Buckwitz and Kira Lipperheide. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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