The Swiss selection of rope for the World Games 2025 in Chengdu.image: dr
Our country is the great planetary dominator of male shot. And he intends to stay at World Games in China this Saturday.
08.08.2025, 11:5108.08.2025, 11:51
simon wespi / ch media
Nicknamed the “Olympic mini-games”, the World Games are already in their 12ᵉ edition, which takes place these next two weeks in China. Four thousand athletes compete in more than thirty disciplines, with the hope of winning medals. The Swiss delegation, too, takes off towards Chengdu with great ambitions.
Among the disciplines on the program is the rope shooting. Switzerland will be largely represented by the members of the Ebersken club, in the canton of Lucerne. And it’s logical: the Lucern are defending world champions. And, in China, they will try to make a Swiss double, since it is another Swiss team that had established itself during the last edition of the World Games, in 2022 in Birmingham.
The point culminating career
The rope shooting is rarely under the spotlight, as the discipline is unknown internationally. The World Games thus represent the highest point of the calendar. Several members of the Ebersken club have already participated in this multi -sport competition in the past. On the other hand, it will be a first for Nico Lüönd and Tobias Koller.
Nico Lüönd and Tobias Koller shoot at the back of the rope (second and third from the left).image: dr
“I am very happy to live this event,” says Tobias Koller. For his part, Nico Lüönd declares:
“Participating for Switzerland and fighting for medals is a huge honor”
For both men, it will also be their first visit to Asia. “I can’t wait to discover a new culture. It will be a week full of adventure. We will surely come back with a lot of images, ”says Koller.
His teammate prefers to avoid talking about culture shock: “Of course, many things will be different and new. But Chengdu is a modern city. I think the shock will not be too strong ”. Food could, however, be a problem: “Just thinking about the kitchen, I am a little worried. I am quite difficult abroad, ”admits Nico Lüönd.
“One of the oldest sports in history”
At the World Games, you have to win two rounds to win the match. There may be zero matches in the qualification phase (unlike the direct elimination phase).
Switzerland is the country that has won the most medals in the history of World Games (19, dont 9 en or).
Weighing and time difference
Ebersken rope shooters have three days to acclimatize to China. The day-day, that of the competition is on Saturday. Before that, training sessions have been aged, as well as the weighing, obliged passage in this discipline: In men, the team of eight shooters must not exceed a total weight of 640 kg (an average of maximum 80 kg per person).
The Lucernois club of Ebersken is Swiss rope champion in the 640 kg category. image: instagram
With their favorite status, the Lucernese leave for Chengdu with great ambitions. “Of course, we want to take advantage of the atmosphere on site, but our main objective remains to perform on D -Day,” reappears Tobias Koller.
“I will approach this with great concentration and give the best version of myself”
His teammate Nico Lüönd has a similar speech: “I want to be able to exploit all my potential”. The ambitions of the two athletes are clear, and they feel a form of pressure, as Koller explains:
“We are reigning world champions. So we are the favorites and those that everyone wants to beat. ”
The two young athletes already have a solid experience in competitions, but this time, The main challenge will be to adapt to jet lag. “Being physically and mentally ready on Saturday will undoubtedly be the biggest challenge,” they say.
This Swiss male team will be made up of seven members of the Ebersken club and a Stans shooter (NW), who replaces another from Engelberg (OW). Most members of the Swiss delegation will stay a week in China, some up to ten days. “I would like, after our ordeal, to be able to attend other competitions,” says Lüönd.
Until then, all the attention remains on their own tournament.
“If we shoot with joy and passion, and if we fully exploit our potential, I am confident: that may be enough to win the title”
The main thing, concludes Nico Lüönd, “is that everyone is going home in good health and satisfied”. And if possible with a new gold medal.
Adaptation in French: Yoann Graber
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