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Felix Loch in Oberhof
Photo:
Matthew Schrader/AP
Toboggan record world champion Felix Loch suffered a surprising setback at the World Championships in Oberhof and missed the hoped-for medal in the single-seater.
The 33-year-old from Berchtesgaden only came fourth in the frosty Thuringian Forest and had to watch as the Austrian Jonas Müller, who was mentored by his former mentor Georg Hackl, won gold.
Local hero and European champion Max Langenhan achieved the best result of his young career with silver, while Austrian David Gleirscher won bronze.
"I made mistakes in the first and second run," said Langenhan, "but I'm Vice World Champion, silver is worth its weight in gold today, I'm happy."
The three-time Olympic champion Loch was more than a tenth of a second behind after the first run, made a slight mistake in the second run and, after winning the sprint gold at the start of the home World Championships, missed his 15th World Championship title.
The juniors David Nössler and Timon Grancagnolo came in seventh and eighth.
In the eighth competition in Oberhof, for the first time no athlete from the Bobsleigh and Luge Association for Germany (BSD) was on top of the podium.
Nevertheless, the record of the German team remains outstanding, before the final team relay, the team of national coach Norbert Loch secured 15 of 24 possible medals.
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