Friedrich finishes off perfect 2-man bobsled season

Published Mar. 2, 2019 10:47 p.m. ET

WHISTLER, British Columbia (AP) — Francesco Friedrich's two-man bobsled season was perfect.

The German driving star won the world two-man championship Saturday night, teaming with Thorsten Margis to hold off the Canadian sled driven by Justin Kripps and pushed by Cameron Stones.

There were nine major races in two-man this season — eight World Cups, then the world championships — and Friedrich drove to the victory in every one.

He and Kripps shared the gold medal at the Pyeongchang Olympics last year, but this time, Friedrich left no doubt. His time over four runs at the Whistler Sliding Centre was 3 minutes, 24.54 second, or about six-tenths of a second faster than Kripps.

Nico Walther and Paul Krenz of Germany took the bronze.

The top U.S. finisher was Codie Bascue, who drove to 16th-place.

Competition continues Sunday with the final two runs of the women's world championship. Germany's Mariama Jamanka, the Olympic champion, goes into Sunday with a lead of 0.13 seconds over the sled driven by Elana Meyers Taylor of the United States.

World titles in men's skeleton, women's skeleton and four-man bobsledding will be awarded next weekend.