From Yanqing, CHN
(November 16, 2023) – Johannes Lochner picked up right where he left off with a win to kick off the 2023/2024 IBSF World Cup two-man bobsled season.
Lochner and brakeman Georg Fleischhauer set the quick start of the first heat and backed it up with a run that wouldn’t be matched by anyone in the field. Francesco Friedrich, from the final starting spot, came close but had a few early mistakes that kept him from gaining ground on his teammate.
On the second run, Friedrich and Alexander Schüller matched Lochner’s first heat start time and easily slid into the lead ads they stood as the only thing behind Lochner and gold.
Lochner and Fleischhauer gave up a hundredth of a second off the start to their German teammates but that was the last mistake they’d make. An otherwise clean and quick run gave Lochner a .62 victory over Friedrich.
The gold for Lochner was his 12th in two-man bobsled competition, while the silver for Friedrich was his 70th two-man medal.
Michael Vogt didn’t factor much in the battle for gold, but the Swiss pilot finished the day solidly in bronze. He and Sandro Michel were consistent off the top and Vogt was relatively clean in both his drives for what was his seventh bronze and tenth medal overall in two-man competition.
Italy’s Patrick Baumgartner kicked off his 2023/2024 effort with a career-best World Cup finish in fourth. His second run start with Robert Mircea was off the pace of the top sliders, but had one of the cleanest runs of the second heat to move up from a tie for fifth into fourth.
Latvia’s Emils Cipulis entered the second heat in ninth but moved his way up into the top five with a strong second run.
Switzerland’s Simon Friedli rounded out the top six.
The United States and Canada both intend their bobsled teams joining up with the World Cup tour when it reaches La Plagne for its second leg. Great Britain’s Brad Hall is out with a back injury for the foreseeable future.
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Lochner / Fleischhauer | GER | 3 | 5.03 | 5.04 | 59.18 | 59.46 | 1:58.64 |
| 2 | Friedrich / Schüller | GER | 11 | 5.05 | 5.03 | 59.50 | 59.76 | 1:59.26 |
| 3 | Vogt / Michel | SUI | 8 | 5.07 | 5.14 | 59.63 | 59.91 | 1:59.54 |
| 4 | Baumgartner / Mircea | ITA | 7 | 5.15 | 5.21 | 60.09 | 60.09 | 2:00.18 |
| 5 | Cipulis / Miknis | LAT | 9 | 5.05 | 5.08 | 60.18 | 60.19 | 2:00.37 |
| 6 | Friedli / Rolli | SUI | 4 | 5.08 | 5.07 | 60.09 | 60.30 | 2:00.39 |
| 7 | Treichl / Huber | AUT | 10 | 5.19 | 5.13 | 60.31 | 60.09 | 2:00.40 |
| 8 | Li / Wu | CHN | 5 | 5.10 | 5.15 | 60.09 | 60.36 | 2:00.45 |
| 9 | Follador / Hufschmid | SUI | 6 | 5.18 | 5.18 | 60.05 | 60.43 | 2:00.48 |
| 10 | Kalenda / Kaufmanis | LAT | 2 | 5.12 | 5.11 | 60.23 | 60.37 | 2:00.60 |
| 11 | Sun / Zhen | CHN | 1 | 5.09 | 5.14 | 60.16 | 60.62 | 2:00.78 |
