Lochners push athlete dedicates victories to his late mother
Dresden (RWH) Obstacles have never stopped 2-man bobsleigh World Champion Georg Fleischhauer (GER): Not as a hurdle sprinter during two titles over 400 meters at the German Championships in 2010 and 2012 or European Championship silver with the team in 2015, and also not during his switch from the tartan track to the ice track in 2019: "My first ride in the bobsleigh was in Altenberg, after that felt really sick. At that point I still thought, if it stays like this, I can't do it," recalls Georg Fleischhauer. Spoiler: things got better and after two successful winters in the Europe Cup with victories and podium finishes, the 35-year-old switched to Johannes Lochner's World Cup team for the 2022/2023 season - and celebrated the most successful 2-man bob season to date of his pilot: In five of the World Cups and the 2023 BMW IBSF World Championships in St. Moritz, the 2-man bob winners were Lochner/Fleischhauer - a victory in every race.
Whether the "perfect match" will also exist as a team in the coming season and beyond is something that pilot Lochner wants to decide in the summer. Georg Fleischhauer sees himself as a motivator: "We are so successful and have so much fun together, I hope Hansi will continue." The long-term goal here: the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
Georg Fleischhauer dedicated the big crystal globe trophy for the overall World Cup victory with the Lochner team to his mother Irene, who passed away in August 2022, after one of the most successful debut seasons in bobsledding - her death was another hurdle the push athlete had to overcome on his athletic path. "It was hard and it's not fair that she can't be there, now, with these successes. I hope she is watching from somewhere and is proud of me", said Georg Fleischhauer after the World Cup final in Sigulda (LAT).
In an IBSF video, Georg Fleischhauer tells his story
Photos: IBSF / Viesturs Lacis
