Bobsleigh star celebrates in St. Moritz despite a bad back: that’s why Vogt climbs onto the home podium in a pink hat

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The German top bobsledders with winner Johannes Lochner (33) and record world champion Francesco Friedrich (33) lead the way in St. Moritz. The battle for the final podium place within the Swiss team is all the more exciting.

Michael Vogt (26) pushes the sensational third place Simon Friedli (32) in the second run to fourth place in the 100th thriller. Vogt celebrates with his pusher Sandro Michel (27) across the podium in the two-man bobsleigh at the home World Championships – and places Then put on a striking pink hat in the finish area in Celerina GR. Schwyzer’s cap has a logo with the letters “PW”.

What’s behind the pink campaign? PW stands for Pirmin Werner, the 24-year-old is world-class in the discipline of freestyle skiing. Vogt and Werner equipped each other for fun. “I’ll give him a sticker on his skis at his next World Cup event,” says Vogt with a smile.

A symbol for available sponsorship space

However, the exchange between the two Swiss athletes has a serious background. It is intended to show that there is still room for sponsors on their equipment. For example, Vogt has been looking for a main sponsor for years.

To possibly change this soon, in addition to the pink cap, the appearance in the ice rink also helps. The fastest Swiss is back on the podium after his first World Cup victory in December. After his forced break due to serious back problems, he is immediately back in the top 3. Strong. This after it was uncertain for a long time whether Vogt could even start in St. Moritz.

The back problem will continue to accompany Vogt

Considering the circumstances, he says: “We are certainly happy today. We were able to overtake Friedli, who had a very good first run. I can still feel my back, but the problem doesn’t stop me from riding at the moment.”

Vogt suffers from dried out intervertebral discs and a narrow spinal canal. Despite research, it is unclear what exactly caused his sudden lumbago. During rehabilitation, he is now working intensively on core stability to better support his back muscularly. Vogt: “As long as I’m not in pain, I don’t care what the trigger is!”

Just like Vogt, Melanie Hasler (25) also escaped her injury in the women’s monobob race. She missed the possible podium in fifth place not because of her thigh strain, but because of driving errors.

Source : Blick