The “Rodel-Tobis” Wendl/Arlt, six-time Olympic champions, are ready for the next Winter Games. They have formed the “Bayern Express” for 25 years. Despite the successes, the hunt for medals remains secondary. Your focus: show the best performance.
The toboggan duo Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt – also known as the “Rodel-Tobis” – are six-time Olympic champions and are therefore among the most successful German athletes. The two have formed the “Bayern Express” for a quarter of a century.
Arlt: “I carry the sleigh, he takes responsibility”
The distribution of tasks between them is clear: “Tobi at the top, I at the bottom,” says Arlt in the BR24Sport documentary “Two for Gold: Olympic Heroes on Runners” and adds with a smile: “I carry the sled and he takes responsibility. He sets the direction. And I do the fine things in curves, entrances and exits – it’s all about the thousandth of a second.”
German Olympic record? “We don’t talk about medals”
At the Olympic Games in February, the two are aiming for a German record. Nobody has ever won seven Olympic gold medals at the Winter Games. But the precious metal is only a secondary goal for the two from Königssee. “We’re not talking about medals. We’ve never done it before. We won’t either. We want to show our best performance,” emphasizes Wendl.
For Arlt, too, a good performance is more important than a medal: “If it comes third, fourth, whatever and you did your best, you’re happy with your performance, then the others were better. Then that’s it!”
“Heart palpitations of death” on the first ride on the Olympic track
For both of them, the games in Cortina will be the fourth in their careers. On February 11th it’s all about the medals in the doubles. “We want to be healthy and at 100 percent performance on day
The two of them have already gotten to know the train. They had “heart palpitations of death,” but at the end of the trip the “feeling of happiness prevailed.”
The doubles have already taken part in the Olympics three times. Family and friends were not there in Sochi, Pyeongchang and Beijing. Things are different this time in Italy. “With the mountains, with the Dolomites, there is a bit of a feeling of home in Cortina. After a three and a half hour drive, family and friends can be there – it’s almost like we’re at the start at home,” Arlt enthuses about the competitions in Italy.
Wendl/Arlt are now the “toboggan grandpas” of the scene
It is very likely that these will be the last games for the “Rodel-Tobis”, who have already referred to themselves as “Toboggan Grandpas” on social media. At 38 years old, they are no longer among the youngest in the starting field. “When we look at the results list from training, it’s a strange feeling when you see the years: 2005, 2003 and then comes Wendl/Arlt 1987. That’s a bit surreal. They could all be your children.”
Source: BR24 TV November 21, 2025 – 6:30 p.m
