Swiss Sliding has appointed Lukas Fischer as its new head of sports ©IBSF

Swiss Sliding has appointed Lukas Fischer as its new head of sports.

Fischer has a Master of Science degree and has worked for Swiss Olympic since 2013.

He succeeds former bobsleigh athlete and Turin 2006 Olympic four-man bronze medallist, Thomas Lamparter, who officially retired as head of sports last month.

A special "goodbye" ceremony was recently held by Swiss Sliding to commemorate the retirement of some of their leading bobsleigh stars.

Swiss Sliding recently held a special goodbye ceremony ©IBSF
Swiss Sliding recently held a special goodbye ceremony ©IBSF

This includes Beat Hefti, considered one of the country's most successful Winter Olympians in recent years.

Hefti won four Olympic and six World Championship medals, including four-man gold on his home ice of St. Moritz in 2007.

He should still be formally upgraded to two-man gold at the Sochi 2014 Olympics following the doping-related disqualification of initial Russian winners Alexandr Zubkov and Alexey Voyevoda.

The 40-year-old driver is also a five-time overall World Cup champion.