Germany's Lochner goes into retirement with Olympic 4-man bobsled gold win over Friedrich

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Johannes Lochner went out on top, and Germany capped another dazzling Olympic display with another dominant bobsled show at the Milan Cortina Games.

Lochner — who announced his retirement months ago — capped his career with his second gold medal of these Olympics, winning the four-man event over two-time defending Olympic champion Francesco Friedrich by 0.57 seconds on Sunday in the final sliding event of these Games.

“It’s just such a dream. … It's indescribable,” Lochner said. “A moment for eternity. A perfect finish, the most perfect finish ever.”

But it wasn't a German sweep: Switzerland got the bronze, with Michael Vogt overtaking Germany's Adam Ammour in the fourth and final run to secure that third-place spot. Ammour settled for fourth.

Lochner's four-run time was 3 minutes, 37.57 seconds. Friedrich — Germany's all-time leader in just about every category imaginable — finished in 3:38.14, Vogt in 3:38.64 and Ammour in 3:38.68.

“A year and a half ago, Hansi asked me to come in his sled and we made a plan,” said pusher Thorsten Margis, who won four Olympic golds with Friedrich and now has a fifth with Lochner. “It’s quite cool if such a plan works out, and it’s pretty amazing to beat the most successful bobsleigh pilot in the world.”

Lochner has made his future plans known. Friedrich isn't saying if he's retiring — yet.

“Normally I have to get one more gold," Friedrich said. "So, we will see.”

Kris Horn had the top U.S. sled, finishing 11th with Caleb Furnell, Hunter Powell and Carsten Vissering in his sled. Frank Del Duca was 12th for the U.S., with Boone Niederhofer, Bryan Sosoo and Josh Williamson in his sled.

“I’m trying to find the words to explain it,” Del Duca said. “We are medal contenders, so to not have a medal hurts. But to be able to walk away from the competition, knowing that we gave maximum effort and maximum preparation, and then be able to see our family in the stands and feel the love from them, feel the support from each other … as hard as it is to walk away empty-handed, we have very full hearts with the support that we have.”

The final bobsled medal tally from bobsled at these Olympics: Germany 8, U.S. 3, Switzerland 1, everyone else in the world 0.

And the total from all three sliding sports — adding skeleton and luge — was just as one-sided.

Those final numbers: Germany 19, Austria 5, Italy 4, U.S. 4, Britain 2, Switzerland 1 and Latvia 1. If Lochner, Friedrich and Ammour were their own nation, they would have tied for the top spot in the sliding medal standings. They combined to win five themselves.

“We are all putting down a show,” said two-woman Olympic champion Laura Nolte, who won two of Germany's nine bobsled medals in Cortina. “And it's fun.”

Lochner became the seventh pilot to sweep both men’s bobsled events in an Olympics, joining Anderl Ostler (1952), Eugenio Monti (1968), Meinhard Nehmer (1976), Wolfgang Hoppe (1984), Andre Lange (2006), and Friedrich (2018 and 2022).

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Switzerland's Michael Vogt, front Andreas Haas, Amadou David Ndiaye and Mario Aeberhard arrive at the finish during a four man bobsled run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Germany's gold medalists Johannes Lochner, left, and Germany's silver medalist Francesco Friedrich, right, celebrate at the finish after the four man bobsled competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Germany's gold medalists Johannes Lochner, front, Thorsten Margis, Jorn Wenzel and Georg Fleischauer arrive at the finish during a four man bobsled run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Germany's gold medalists Johannes Lochner, Thorsten Margis, Jorn Wenzel and Georg Fleischauer pose with their medals after the four man bobsled competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026.(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

United States' Kristopher Horn, Caleb Furnell, Hunter Powell and Carsten Vissering arrive at the finish during a four man bobsled run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Germany's Francesco Friedrich, left, Matthias Sommer, Alexander Schuller and Felix Straub slide down the track during a four man bobsled run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Germany's Johannes Lochner, front, Thorsten Margis, Jorn Wenzel and Georg Fleischauer arrive at the finish during a four man bobsled run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Germany's Johannes Lochner, left, Thorsten Margis, Jorn Wenzel and Georg Fleischauer slide down the track during a four man bobsled run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Kelly Pannek was so determined to carve out a future in hockey while still at college, the forward made the conscious decision to sacrifice offense to focus on her shutdown skills.

The choice led to Pannek becoming a U.S. national team fixture as a three-time Olympian, beginning in 2018, and establish herself as one of women's hockey's best defensive forwards.

Some eight years later, Pannek discovered she hasn’t lost her scoring touch in closing her third PWHL season with Minnesota.

In a league featuring proven offensive stars in Hilary Knight and Marie-Philip Poulin, and teammates Taylor Heise and Kendall Coyne Schofield, Pannek topped them all as the two-time defending Walter Cup champion Frost open the playoffs at Montreal on Saturday.

Pannek led the PWHL with 16 goals and a league-record 33 points, and was one assist from completing what would have been rare hockey triple crown — for men or women.

“I think more than anything, it’s reassuring and confidence-building to know that I used to be someone who was often relied on to provide offense for teams, and I still am that player,” Pannek said by phone this week. “I just needed to kind of re-find it, I guess.”

Her 33 points in 30 games this year surpassed her total production in her first two seasons, when she combined for seven goals and 27 points in 54 games.

And the offensive output didn’t hinder Pannek’s defensive play.

She finished sixth in the PWHL with a plus-13 plus-minus rating. She also won 341 of 575 faceoffs for a 59.3% success rate, third among players with 200 or more attempts.

“I don’t want to say no, because I think she’s a great player,” Frost coach Ken Klee said when asked whether he expected this much production from Pannek.

“From the beginning of the year, she seemed different. Our very first coach’s meeting, we had her in the office, and she just seemed lighter, she seemed more energetic," Klee added. “I really think she just said, ‘Hey, I’m going to play free, and if it's time to play offense, I'm going to play offense.' She's just really taken a next step.”

There are several reasons behind Pannek flipping the offensive switch.

An offseason roster shake-up caused by Minnesota losing talent in the expansion process led to Pannek realizing she was going to have to contribute more offensively.

Another factor was Pannek growing in confidence while turning 30 in December.

In her early Team USA days, Pannek stuck to defense and shied away from opening up on offense in fear of making mistakes that could cost her ice time or even her roster spot.

In the PWHL, Pannek came to realize she had more job security and, with it, the leeway to make a mistake or two over a 30-game season, as opposed to the pressure that comes with competing in two-week international tournaments where miscues are magnified.

“There’s a lot of implications with points and stuff on the line, but you also accept that you’re going to make mistakes, and goals are going to go in and it’s not life or death,” Pannek said of PWHL play. “I’ll still be on the team if I have a bad game and if I have a great game. ... So I think a lot of it was a little bit of a mentality shift.”

She's had far more good games than bad, and called this season “invigorating.”

Former U.S. star Meghan Duggan is not surprised by Pannek’s development: “She always had it in her, but it just started to come out as of late.”

What stood out to Duggan was the maturity and reliability Pannek brought to the ice even as a 22-year-old.

“Kelly Pannek is a player I would choose 10 times out of 10 to go into the biggest game with right by my side, because I know what she’s going to bring: stability, predictability, high character,” said Duggan, now the New Jersey Devils' player development director. “Kelly to me is the type of player that you win championships with, and she's done that multiple times.”

Pannek was a two-way star during her four college seasons at Minnesota, where she won two national titles and finished with 72 goals and 186 points in 157 career games. At the Olympics, she won gold in 2018 and 2026, along with a silver in 2022.

“I’ve changed as a player over these last almost eight years, but also my role has changed,” Pannek said. “I pride myself on being someone who can do any role up and down the lineup.”

Today, her sole focus is on the upcoming playoffs.

“Whatever it takes," Pannek said. “If I have zero points the rest of the playoffs and we win — it’s all about the winning.”

AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

Minnesota Frost's Kelly Pannek (12) celebrates with teammates after her goal against the Vancouver Goldeneyes during the third period of a PWHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)