Bobsleigh pilot Johannes Lochner wins first World Championship gold in 2-man Bob

Olympic Champion Friedrich takes silver, bronze for Michael Vogt from Switzerland 

St. Moritz (RWH) Bobsleigh pilot Johannes Lochner (GER) is 2-man bobsleigh World Champion for the first time. At the 2023 BMW IBSF World Championships St. Moritz-Celerina (SUI), the Olympic silver medalist now won his first World Championship title in the small sled after four times silver (2015, 2016, 2020 and 2021) and bronze in 2017. With Georg Fleischhauer as push athlete, Lochner set a start record (5.01 seconds) in the last of the four World Championships race runs.

Olympic Champion and defending World Champion Francesco Friedrich (GER, 0.49 seconds back) finished second with Alexander Schueller in St. Moritz and took silver. Friedrich/Schueller saved 0.01 seconds from third place in the last of the four heats at the Olympia Bobrun St. Moritz-Celerina.

The World Championships host team from Switzerland celebrated bronze in St. Moritz: 0.50 seconds behind the winning duo Lochner/Fleischhauer, Michael Vogt/Sandro Michel finished third in front of fans and family at the Olympia Bobrun. For the Swiss team it was the first World Championships medal since 2016, when Beat Hefti/Gregor Baumann also won bronze.

For more detailed information including athlete profiles and results please visit ibsf.org. Photos for editorial use can be found at Flickr. ©RWH2023

Johannes Lochner (GER, 2023 World Champion, 2022 Olympic silver medalist, four-time World Championships silver medalist, overall World Cup leader 22/23).

"The 2-man bobsleigh title means a lot to me, that was the last thing on the to-do list. To be second four times at the World Championships has made me angry at some point. The fact that we got the start record again at the end was also an incentive."

Francesco Friedrich (GER, 2023 World Championships silver, 2018 and 2022 Olympic Champion, seven-time World Champion).

"We can be satisfied. Today we have again taken full risk, in retrospect, that was perhaps not the right thing. But at least we have secured silver in this way. The track in St. Moritz is very selective this year."

Michael Vogt (SUI, 2023 World Championship bronze, Olympic fourth in 2022, European Championship second in 2023)

"I am very satisfied. The hundredth of a second on silver doesn't annoy me. A medal was our goal, especially after the fourth place at the Olympics in Beijing."