IN a truly historical moment, Germany’s bobsleigh golden boy said his next focus is the morning training sessions. Olympic champion Francesco Friedrich expressed his pride at having achieved a landslide victory with the German two-man-bob teams taking all three medals Tuesday at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, producing the first bob podium sweep in Olympic history. But the 31-year-old quickly announced that training sessions for the four-man-bob competition would start at 9:30 a.m. the next day. “That means for us, quickly collecting the medals and returning to our preparations,” he stated. Friedrich took the crown after four runs together with his brakeman Thorsten Margis ahead of Johannes Lochner and Florian Bauer followed by the thirds, Christoph Hafer and Matthias Sommer. International fans might have been amused about the serious Germans taking every bit of their sports as the most important thing on earth. But for the detail-loving Friedrich, things go far beyond the scrupulous performance of duties. Friedrich called bob driving one of his life’s most fascinating things. He even compared it to perfection as “so many details must be considered.” Thousands of little pieces need to be put together to create the big picture, he added. “Little parts must fit to follow your desire to run down an icy slope, hunting hundredths of seconds,” he said. He almost sounded as if he was talking about aeronautics in outer space. For pioneers of his kind, every bit of available time seems like a treasure as it allows him to create a piece of art. Science is playing an essential role in today’s bobsleigh. Long before investigating the next track, the German is spending months trying to optimize his equipment. He might have spent more time at the Berlin-based institute for science and development of sports equipment than at home with his family. In addition to using a sled simulator invented by car manufacturer BMW in Munich to practise riding the track in Beijing a dozen times, German athletes also collaborate with the Berlin institute. Technicians and engineers set up well-oiled racing machines and German athletes praised the achievements as the best available. Since 2014, engineers have accompanied athletes at every one of their races. German sleds are high-tech machines, Friedrich said. Thousands of test runs mark the final piece of the jigsaw for the 13-time world champion, three-time Olympic champion, and six-time European Champion. What is similarly important is Friedrich’s gut feeling. After several training sessions, he decided to go for a turnaround. Other than his German competitors, Friedrich had counted on a less aggressively adjusted chassis in pre-competition test runs and ended up behind his national rivals. He decided to borrow the sled of German female athlete and European champion Kim Kalicki. The sleds of male and female competitors are identical in construction. Kalicki skipped her training sessions to help out. Friedrich took the opportunity, relying on a solid team spirit, and won the Olympic race as if it was a regional championship. (Xinhua) | 