Felix Loch (; born 24 July 1989) is a German

luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...

r and Olympic champion. He has been competing since 1995 and on the German national team since 2006. He has won fourteen medals at the

FIL World Luge Championships The FIL World Luge Championships, part of the International Luge Federation (FIL) have taken place on an almost annual basis in non-Winter Olympics years since 1955. These championships are shown for artificial tracks. See FIL World Luge Natural ...

, including twelve golds (Men's singles:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

; Men's sprint

: Mixed team event: 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016) and two silvers (Men's singles:

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

). Loch's men's singles win in 2008 made him the youngest

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

ever at 18 years old. He is the youngest Olympic Gold Medalist in men's luge history. As of 2022, Loch is a triple Olympic gold medalist.

Career

At the 2008 FIL European Luge Championships in Cesana,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, he finished sixth in the men's singles event. Previously he had won the 2006 Junior World Championship held in

Altenberg, Germany Altenberg () is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany. Geography The town is situated in the Ore Mountains, 32 km south of Dresden, and 15 km northwest of Teplice, Czech Republic. The village of ...

. Loch is a member of the Club RC Berchtesgaden and currently lives at

Schönau am Königssee Schönau am Königssee is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Berchtesgadener Land in the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is located at the northern end of the Königssee lake. Geography Schönau is surrounded by t ...

though he was born in

Sonneberg Sonneberg () in Thuringia, Germany, is the seat of the Sonneberg district. It is in the Franconian south of Thuringia, neighboring its Upper Franconian twin town Neustadt bei Coburg. Sonneberg became known as the "world toy city", and is home ...

. During International Training Week at the

Whistler Sliding Centre The Whistler Sliding Centre () is a Canadian bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton (sport), skeleton track located in Whistler, British Columbia, that is north of Vancouver. The centre is part of the Whistler Blackcomb resort, which comprises two ski mo ...

Whistler, British Columbia Whistler (, ; , ) is a resort municipality in Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. It is located in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains, approximately north of Vancouver and south of Pemberton, Britis ...

on 7–15 November 2008, Loch injured his shoulder during training.

Bob- und Schlittenverband für Deutschland German Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation (, BSD) is the official federation for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton in Germany. It is the German representative both to the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation and the International Luge F ...

(BSD) Sport Director Thomas Schwab stated that Loch would compete at the opening

Luge World Cup The Luge World Cup season is a yearly competition first organized by the International Luge Federation since 1977–78. The World Cup is the highest level season-long competition in the sport. Men's singles ;Medals: ;World Cup Stages medals ( ...

event at

Igls Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

on 29–30 November 2008, which Loch did. On 21 February 2009, during the 2008-09 Luge World Cup season finale at

, Loch recorded the fastest registered speed in luge, . At the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, Loch again won the gold medal in men's Singles, marking his second consecutive Olympic victory, and he was also in the German team which won gold in the inaugural team relay. At the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

, in the men's singles competition, Loch was a heavy favorite and indeed was leading the field after three runs, but in the last run made a mistake that cost him a medal. He ended in the fifth position.

Luge results

Olympic Games

World Championships

*21 medals – (14 gold, 5 silver, 2 bronze)

World Cup

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loch, Felix 1989 births Living people People from Sonneberg Sportspeople from Bezirk Suhl German male lugers Lugers from Thuringia Olympic lugers for Germany Lugers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 2018 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic medalists in luge Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics Recipients of the Silver Laurel Leaf 21st-century German sportsmen