Beijing 2022: Johannes Lochner part of history with two-man silver medal

No sooner had Johannes Lochner won silver in the two-man bobsleigh Beijing 2022, he started thinking about how to win gold.

Germany claimed an unprecedented clean sweep in the event on Tuesday (15 February) Lochner and brakeman Florian Bauer finished just under half a second behind reigning champions Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis.

Christoph Hafer and Matthias Sommer were third as Germany continued its dominance at the National Sliding Centre.

It was a first Winter Olympics medal for Lochner, who finished fifth at PyeongChang 2018, but there were mixed feelings for the 31-year-old who aims to dislodge Friedrich from the top of the podium in the four-man bob.

He told Olympics.com: “It’s hard. He’s always on top, he’s always performing his best. I need a new way and maybe I will find a new way in the four-man next.”

Lochner's path to the top of the podium blocked by Friedrich

Lochner is accustomed to finishing one place behind Friedrich, who won his third Olympic title after double gold in PyeongChang 2018.

He has won four two-man bob silvers at the World Championships behind you know who, and Lochner knows his path is blocked by a man widely recognised as one of the greatest pilots in history.

Sitting beside Friedrich after the medal ceremony, he smilingly told ARD: "I tried everything to make Francesco's life hell."

When Friedrich was asked about the key to his success, Lochner said: "Reveal the secret. Tell me!"

Lochner continues family tradition

Lochner tried out several winter sports as a child and was introduced to bobsleigh by his father Hans Lochner and Uncle Rudolf "Rudi" Lochner.

Uncle Rudi paved the way for his nephew at the elite end of bobsleigh, beating bobsleigh legends Gustav Weder and Wolfgang Hoppe to take the two-man world title in 1991.

Again with brakeman Markus Zimmerman, Lochner took silver at Albertville 1992 Games behind Weder. The pair also finished fourth at Lillehammer 1994.

Lochner looks ahead to the four-man and beyond

While Friedrich is dominant, he is not unbeatable and the pair shared the four-man title at the 2017 World Championships in Königsee, Germany.

They were back at the track less than 10 hours after the medal ceremony for the first official training runs for the four-man where Friedrich will attempt to complete a double-double at consecutive Games.

But Lochner has other ideas - he wants gold this time and then a celebration back home in Germany.

He said: “No time to recover, no time for party. We’ll celebrate when we’re back home with our families waiting for us.

"Now, five more days with hard work, then we fly back and celebrate at home. We’re from Bavaria – we’ll celebrate with a lot of beer.”

How to watch the four-man bobsleigh at the Olympic Winter Games

The four-man bobsleigh gets underway at Yanqing National Sliding Centre on Saturday 19 February at 09:30 Beijing time (02:30 CET) with Heat 2 following.

Heat 3 is at 09:30 local time on Sunday with the medals decided in Heat 4 from 11:20 local time (04:20 CET).