Felix Loch sets track record as he aims for gold

PyeongChang (RWH) Felix Loch has his sights sets on a third gold medal in the men’s single-seater. The 2010 and 2014 Olympic Champion set a new track record of 47.625 seconds on his second run at the Winter Games in PyeongChang, Korea, to head the field of 40 athletes. The five-time World Champion knocked Austria’s David Gleirscher off the top spot. Gleirscher, who finished second at the U23 World Championships in 2016, had initially set a track record of 47.652 seconds on his first run. Roman Repilov (OAR), who had previously dominated all practice runs, had to settle for third place at the halfway point.

Fourth and fifth places went to the American Chris Mazdzer and the Canadian Sam Edney respectively. Edney previously finished third place in the Olympic test on the artificial ice track at the Alpensia Sliding Center last year. Sixth is the Italian Kevin Fischnaller ahead of Latvia’s Junior World Champion Kristers Aparjods.

David Gleirscher (AUT), who led after the first run, had already put in an impressive performance at the FIL’s International Training Week. The eldest son of Gerhard Gleirscher, who won the 1997 World Championship bronze medal in Innsbruck, set an unofficial track record that week. His best result so far in the World Cup was fourth this winter on the artificial ice track in Königssee.

Semen Pavlichenko (OAR) has lost almost any chance of winning a medal. The 2015 World Champion made a mistake on his very first run. He was 17th after the second run, more than nine tenths of a second behind.

Prospective medallists after the second run include Johannes Ludwig (GER), Austria’s World Champion Wolfgang Kindl, Canadian Reid Watts, the current World Championship bronze medallist Dominik Fischnaller from Italy, and Andi Langenhan (GER), who occupy eighth to twelfth places respectively. Langenhan, who finished fourth at the Sochi Olympics, is only slightly more than four tenths away from the bronze position.

Quotes

Felix Loch (GER / 2010 and 2014 Olympic Champion, five-time World Champion):

“I can’t get too relaxed yet. We’ve all seen how easy it is to throw away an opportunity here. We need to get two solid runs in on Sunday. In training we’ve already seen that David can be very fast here.”

David Gleirscher (AUT / silver medallist at the U23 World Championships 2016, third in the Junior World Championships 2013):

“I’m just focusing on my race and trying to block out everything that’s going on outside. The unofficial track record brought a bit of security. It was great to set an official track record on my first run. Sadly Felix snatched it away again pretty quickly.”

Roman Repilov (OAR / 2017 World Championship silver medallist and overall winner of the Viessmann World Cup 2016/2017):

“I’m really disappointed with the second run. Maybe it’s because these are my first Olympic Games and there are a lot of emotions going on.”