CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Germany's second successive medal sweep in the Olympic Two-Man bobsleigh has fuelled the belief that they are light years ahead of all opposition in the sport, and boosted morale after a sub-optimal start at the Sliding Centre.
Four years ago the Germans had a fantastic bobsleigh campaign, including a first medal sweep - in the same Two-Man event - but also won all three luge and both skeleton golds available.
The first week in Cortina was, by their lofty standards, a disappointment, with a return of three from five in the luge and none of three in skeleton.
The opening bobsleigh event, the Monobob, also went to the United States for the second time, before normal service was resumed in the Two-Man on Tuesday.
BACK IN ACTION
The three medal-winning pilots - Johannes Lochner, Francesco Friedrich and Adam Ammour - were back on the ice on Wednesday, nine hours after completing their media duties, in the first training runs for the Four-Man, which they have won for the last two Games.
The Two-Woman teams were also due to train for their bid for a third-successive gold.
The historical medal tables have Germany, in its various guises, miles clear at the top in bobsleigh and luge - though trailing Britain and the United States in skeleton.
With four tracks to train on - two more than anyone else - it seemed it would always be that way, until 2014. The very name Sochi sends a shiver down the spine of German bobsledders, and even as six of them sat in the victorious press conference of Tuesday's clean sweep, the name of the Russian city, and Germany's failure there, was brought up.
Not only did they fail to collect their usual batch of golds, incredibly they failed to win a single medal for the first time in 50 years.
Unsurprisingly, a deep review followed that concluded the Germans had fallen behind in the physical preparation of their athletes and, crucially, in their technology.
NOT ALL ABOUT THE EQUIPMENT, FRIEDRICH SAYS
Both aspects were immediately addressed, with dramatic results.
In the next two Olympics Germany won all six available team golds - one of them shared - as well as four silvers and a bronze. The only event they failed to medal in was the inaugural women's Monobob, where, tellingly, all athletes use the same sled and Germany's rediscovered technical superiority could not be imposed.
Friedrich, whose silver on Tuesday alongside four previous golds took him level with compatriot Andre Lange as the most successful pilot in Olympic history, bristled at the suggestion that it was their sleds that made the difference.
"It’s really easy (to say that). It’s not all about the equipment," he said after the race.
"If we look at the start times and we look at the lines that we drive on the ice and at the push, then the others don't have to talk about our equipment.
"If they push fast, or faster than us, or they drive better than us, and they lose, then they can talk about the material. But until this point arrives, they have a lot of work to do."
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips; Editing by Alison Williams)
