BEIJING (AP) 鈥� There are no rear-view mirrors on a bobsled, which is fitting when considering Francesco Friedrich鈥檚 approach to the sport.
He doesn鈥檛 look back. Only forward.
That鈥檚 why the greatest men鈥檚 bobsledder in the world right now 鈥� and probably ever 鈥� has no desire to talk about his legacy or what he鈥檚 already accomplished to this point. His mind is always on the next thing, the next race, the next challenge. And right now, that means the Beijing Olympics, where the start of the men鈥檚 bobsled competition comes Monday with the first two runs of the two-man event.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a special guy,鈥� U.S. bobsledder Carlo Valdes said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 going to go down as the best, most successful, pilot in history. He鈥檚 been doing this for a long time and there鈥檚 a reason why he wins so many medals, world championships, gold and gold in the Olympics in 2018. It鈥檚 cool to be able to compete against him. It鈥檚 also annoying: He wins all the time and we鈥檙e like 鈥楬ey, we get it.鈥欌��
Valdes, good-naturedly, approaches Friedrich most every race week with a message: 鈥淚t鈥檚 not going to be your week,鈥� Valdes tells him.
And that prediction is usually very wrong.
It鈥檚 not correct to say that Friedrich always wins. It鈥檚 pretty close, though. Going back to the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, Friedrich has competed in 71 major international races 鈥� meaning Olympics, World Cups and world championships.
He鈥檚 won 58 of those, or an absurd 82%.
He鈥檚 medaled in 67 of those, an even more absurd 94%. His worst finishes in the last four years: two fourth-places, one fifth-place and one 12th-place. That鈥檚 it.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we do,鈥� Friedrich said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 our job.鈥�
He dominates his sport like very few others have. He beats just about everyone every single week. It would seem to be a recipe for resentment among his competitors.
It isn鈥檛.
Friedrich鈥檚 name is everywhere in bobsledding 鈥� the record books, Olympic history, European history, and even U.S. sleds. Yes, really. When the American men鈥檚 team was fundraising before this season began, anyone who donated at least $500 was going to get rewarded by having their name added to the side of one of the team鈥檚 bobsleds.
Friedrich gave $500. True to their word, the Americans put his name on the sled.
鈥淗e鈥檚 one of my idols in the sport,鈥� U.S. pilot and first-time Olympian Hunter Church said. 鈥淚 remember when he won his first world championship medal and he got asked about his next goal, and he said, 鈥榯his is a great victory but it doesn鈥檛 matter until I am the best bobsled driver of all-time.鈥� It was his mission to be one of the greatest. To strive for consistent greatness, or be better than you were the day before, it鈥檚 what he鈥檚 done and it鈥檚 what will keep me going.鈥�
Bobsled is one of those super-secretive sports. It鈥檚 an unwritten rule: Don鈥檛 ask pilots about the technology that goes into their sleds, don鈥檛 ask about technique, don鈥檛 ask about setups. Some teams get upset if they see anyone from another nation even daring to look at one of their sleds.
Friedrich goes the other direction. He doesn鈥檛 share all his secrets, but enough. The $500 gift to the U.S. program was far from the first time he鈥檚 donated money to other teams; he also got his name on Benjamin Maier鈥檚 sled for Austria this season after sponsoring that program, too.
鈥淔rancesco thought it would be funny if his name was on my sled,鈥� Maier said.
Thing is, Friedrich doesn鈥檛 really think it鈥檚 funny. He gives money because he can, because it鈥檚 the right thing to do 鈥� and because he feels a responsibility to grow the sport, even if that means helping rivals.
鈥淭he day that there鈥檚 a limited amount of sleds on the World Cup tour is the day the sport dies,鈥� Valdes said. 鈥淵ou can see that he鈥檚 just trying to do his part to keep it going.鈥�
Here鈥檚 perhaps the best example of that: The four-man sled that Friedrich used to win gold in Pyeongchang is here at the Beijing Games 鈥� now painted in Canada colors.
He sold it to them.
鈥淗e definitely wouldn鈥檛 have sold the sled if he didn鈥檛 have something better, right?鈥� said Canadian pilot Justin Kripps, who tied Friedrich for the two-man gold at the Pyeongchang Games. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very expensive item to have sitting in your garage unused, so I can see why he sold it.鈥�
Kripps and Friedrich are close friends. Kripps is one of the very best in the world at what he does, a true medal contender. And even he has no doubt about who the favorite is in Beijing.
鈥淗e wins everything, right? So, obviously, people would consider him the one to beat,鈥� Kripps said. 鈥淚 think they also considered him the one to beat going into 2018, and he鈥檚 even more dominant now.鈥�
Friedrich wants no part of that thinking.
He鈥檚 modest, almost to a fault. He talks about how much he enjoys working on his sled, building relationships with his teammates, supporting others. He鈥檒l talk about almost anything.
Anything, that is, except his own success. Maybe someday. Not yet. There鈥檚 more to win.
鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 matter in this moment,鈥� Friedrich said. 鈥淲e have to prepare in the moment for this. When that is over, we can talk about it. I have a job and I do what I can do. That鈥檚 what is fun to me and that鈥檚 my motivation. Every day, I have fun.鈥�
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Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
