Double success in two-man bobsleigh: Lochner ahead of Friedrich
Johannes Lochner has won the two-man bobsleigh World Cup opener on the Olympic track at the Beijing Winter Games ahead of Francesco Friedrich.
The two-man bobsleigh world champion won with regular pusher Georg Fleischhauer, 0.62 seconds ahead of Friedrich and pusher Alexander Schüller. Switzerland's Michael Voigt came third in the season opener.
At the 2022 Olympics, record-breaking World Champion Friedrich came out on top ahead of Lochner at the Yanqing National Sliding Center. "The training performances have somehow been confirmed. Hansi beat everyone in training and simply skied more consistently, he deserved to win," said Friedrich from Saxony.
Lochner from Berchtesgaden continued his streak: Whenever he competed with pusher Fleischhauer, he won in the small sled. "I'm really happy, it worked really well with Georg at the start. I think he's still unbeaten in the two-man so far," said Lochner.
It was the seventh two-man bobsleigh World Cup victory in a row over the course of the season, and the duo also won the World Championships in St. Moritz in February, ending Friedrich's record-breaking run of World Championship titles since 2013. "We will continue in the same vein in the next races," announced Lochner.
Women's race in Beijing canceled
The start of the new World Cup season for female bobsleigh athletes had previously been postponed. Due to the low number of participants, the women's competition in Beijing was canceled. They will now start the season from December 4 to 10 in La Plagne, France.
Bob had a close call in the World Cup, finishing just behind his rival Francesco Friedrich in the two-man bobsleigh event.In the women's competition, unfortunately, Bob's teammate and fellow German athlete, Francesco Friedrich's partner in the four-man event, was unable to participate due to the cancellation of the Beijing World Cup.
Source: www.dpa.com
