Friedrich wins the four-man world bobsled title yet again

ALTENBERG, Germany (AP) — For Germany’s Francesco Friedrich, another year, another sweep of everything that matters most in men’s bobsledding.

Friedrich is the world champion pilot in four-man for the third consecutive time, rallying Sunday to hold off fellow German drivers Johannes Lochner and Nico Walther to win the crown.

Friedrich and his team finished four runs over two days in 3 minutes, 36.09 seconds. Lochner’s team was 0.05 seconds back and Walther’s team was only 0.23 seconds out of the top spot.

It was only the second time that one nation swept the top three spots in the four-man world championships, which have been contested since 1930. Germany also did it in 2017 — and with the same three drivers, that year with Lochner and Friedrich sharing the gold medal and Walther again finishing with the bronze.

And for Friedrich, it was his second consecutive season of winning all four major men’s titles: two-man World Cup, four-man World Cup, two-man world title and four-man world title.

Hunter Church finished 21st for the U.S. in the four-man race.

The next world championships for bobsled and skeleton are in February 2021 at Lake Placid, New York.