Fifth European Championship title for Lochner: Dramatic four-man bobsleigh thriller in Lillehammer!

Fifth European Championship title for Lochner: Dramatic four-man bobsleigh thriller in Lillehammer!

In the competition of bobsleigh drivers in Lillehammer, the German athletes secured impressive titles at the European Championship (EM) on February 8, 2025. Johannes Lochner triumphed in the four-way bob and stopped Francesco Friedrich's European Championship double, who won the title the day before in the two-day bob. Lochner celebrated his fifth EM title in the premier class with his crew, consisting of Florian Bauer, Jörn Wenzel and Georg Fleischhauer. With a narrow lead of only five hundredths of a second on Friedrich, he achieved a remarkable success.

Friedrich, on the other hand, who climbed to the podium in the two-way bob, added the seventh title in the two-way bob to his remarkable Palmarès. This was already the ninth overall title of his career, which underlines the dominance of the experienced athlete. In third place in this category Michael Vogt from Switzerland and Brad Hall from Great Britain.

success and challenges

The championships in Lillehammer not only brought success, but also challenges. Lochner reflected on the difficult season and expressed that despite his progress, the upcoming world championships could be a major challenge. "I am satisfied with my second place, even if I made too many mistakes on the train," said Lochner. Francesco Friedrich also spoke about the changing conditions on the track, which were shaped by Lochner's competition, among other things.

In the two -way bob, it was Laura Nolte who showed an impressive performance with her referee Leonie Kluwig. They secured the European Championship title with a lead of two hundredths of a second ahead of Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig. Nolte thus achieved her second European Championship gold, after she was previously successful in Monobob and can now have a total of four European Championship titles in these disciplines. Despite her success, Nolte regretted third place in the overall World Cup, in which she was able to further expand her leadership.

further placements

In addition to the upper ranks of the German team, Lisa Buckwitz and Kira Lipperheide also performed strong performances. Buckwitz achieved an excellent fifth place and thus secured the EM bronze medal. Their impressive start record underlines the potential and competitiveness of German bobs. The Ammour brothers, defending champions in this discipline, disappointed and landed in fourth place without a medal.

The competitions in Lillehammer led to exciting races and set standards for the upcoming world championships, while the athletes had to adapt their strategies and preparations for the next challenges. The achievements of Lochner, Nolte and Friedrich show the strength and potential of the German bobsleigh team at an international level.

Radio Euskirchen reports that the competitions took place on 08.02.2025. Also the

Sportschau mentions in the four-way performance and Francesco Francesco put the quickest Scored time in both runs.