Four-time Olympic bobsleigh champion Thorsten Margis is not starting the gold medal project in Cortina d'Ampezzo with his long-time pilot Francesco Friedrich, but with German competitor Johannes Lochner. After a season off, the 35-year-old pusher has now started preparing for the 2026 Winter Games in the team of Olympic silver medallist Lochner from Berchtesgaden.
"We're not working here to win a medal. No, we want to win gold and become Olympic champions - nothing else! And that's also a realistic goal, because it's feasible to beat Franz," said ten-time world champion Margis in an interview with the German Bobsleigh and Luge Federation (BSD).
His mental strength in particular should help the team from Bavaria against the showpiece pilot from Saxony. "With Hansi, it was always just not enough, and then the start times often got slower instead of faster from run to run. And these are things that you have to get under control," said Margis, relying above all on Lochner's driving skills: "He's already put me and Franz under a lot of pressure in Beijing 2022, he's always been brutally fast and good."
