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140 km/h ON THE TRACK

Lochner started out with his uncle, the successful bobsleigh athlete Rudi Lochner, who urged him to try out the sport. After the first time, there was no doubt in his mind: “That’s what I want to do.” However, he admits that you have to be an adrenaline junkie to really have fun at the sport. At over 140 km/h in the bob track, that’s hardly surprising. Every winter means intense training on the local track at Königssee, athletics training and competitions on weekends. Victory is often his, for example at the World Championships in 2017, when he won the World Cup with his teammates, or recently at the European Championship of 2020 in Winterberg. In Pyeongchang he ultimately failed on the track. Now, after the Games, comes the analysis of what went wrong. And will go on and continue fighting. “That’s all you can do”.

Athletics training, sponsoring dates and improving the sleigh: that’s what Lochner’s summer looks like. And he also studies Electrical Engineering at TUM. The perfect combination for him: “If my life was all about sports, it probably wouldn’t be much fun for me. I have university in summer, where I can give it my full attention, and then in winter it’s time for sport again. This changeover is the perfect balance for me.”

Studying with the tight training schedule is not easy – also because some lectures are only offered in the winter semester. And “if you don’t listen to lectures at all, it’s always difficult.” However, cancelling his studies is not an option for him. Especially since he only needs two exams and the master thesis to graduate. “These are just the kind of challenges I have to think about how to cope with. But after the Games, I wonder whether I might even put off one winter and just see it through to the end, or whatever.”

ACHIEVING A DEGREE DESPITE BOBSLEIGHING

No matter what, he wants to work in his father’s planning office in the field of electrical planning. “There are several paths I can take, all of which end up somehow in the same place, so that I can join my father’s company.” He can’t imagine working as a full-time trainer later. But he would like to help young teams as a consultant “with know-how, offering advice on tracks, technical questions and materials”. He himself is grateful for the support he has received from experienced and successful bobsleigh riders. “I also had someone who always supported me and who brought me up in the field of bobsleighing as it were. That’s exactly what I could imagine doing myself.”