Swiss athletics in good shape
The “little Swiss” have become large, beautiful and strong
With a top 10 at the European team championships in Madrid, Switzerland confirmed its anchoring in the continental elite. A result that opens the way to new ambitions.
The Friborg Audrey Werro embodies all the promises of Swiss athletics.
Sébastien Boue/Press Sports/Free
- Switzerland confirmed its progression by signing a top 10 at the European team championships in Madrid last weekend.
- Young talents shone during their first national selection, more experienced athletes have confirmed that they are ready to compete with the best nations.
- Switzerland is positioned as an ambitious nation before the Tokyo Worlds in September, but also Europeans under the age of 20 and 23 this summer.
Tenth. This ranking might seem modest in the ultra -competitive universe of international sport. But for theSwiss athleticsthis top 10 conquered last week at the European team championships in Madrid, in the continental first division, has a completely different scope: it confirms the turning point in recent years and supports the ascent of a “small country” which has become an actor who counts on the international scene.
“Team Europeans (Editor’s note: an athlete by discipline) are an excellent indicator of the health of our athletics, 10e Rang is a very good result for a nation like Switzerland, ”analyzes Kenny Guex, national coach of sprints, hedges and relays. The observation is clear, Swiss athletics has never been so competitive: solid leaders, talents in full hatch and a density that progresses in most disciplines.
Where Switzerland was struggling, a decade ago, to invite herself in the final of the great championships, it rivals today with European references such as Italy, Poland, Germany-Madrid podium-, but also Great Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, to name a few.
This result is the fruit of an ambitious and coherent strategy implemented by Swiss Athletics: structuring of executives, individualized support, mounted in professionalization, and dissemination of a performance culture at all levels.
Swiss athletics, a boiling pool
Madrid has also served as a launch ramp for the new generation. “This championship is important because it allows our young athletes to experience a first selection in a major competition,” said François Chiron, national semi-emergence and substantive coach. An essential step to gain maturity and build an international career.
This is the case of Jenice Koller, 19, who broke his personal record for the javelin for her first appearance in a national team, or the Friborg neophyte Vincent Gendre, now a eighth Swiss History performer on 400 m. So many solid promises in a breeding ground in full swing.
Madrid also offered a field of expression to athletes in transition to the very high level. “Some are at the door of a world championship but still lack experience. These competitions allow them to situate themselves in front of the best, ”adds François Chiron.
The feminine 800 m is a speaking example: Switzerland sees it emerging an ambitious generation, symbolized by its leader, the Friborg Audrey Werro (2e in Madrid). “It augurs very beautiful things for the next world championships and the Olympic Games,” said Chiron.
This leap forward (12e Rang to the EC by 2023 teams) now places the Federation in the face of an even greater responsibility: to perpetuate the achievements and widen the base. “Today we have strong leaders, but our mission is to increase the density of athletes present at the highest level,” insists Kenny Guex.
Figures like Dita Combundji And Jason Joseph, both winners on the hedges in Madrid, Dominic Lobalu, 2e on 5000 m, or Angelica Moser, 3e At the pole, embody current excellence and draw Swiss athletics upwards. But the challenge is now to bring out other headliners, in all disciplines, and in particular in the technical tests, historically less promising and still behind.
Behind this 10e Rang also hides a basic dynamic. A structural turn that few European federations have been able to negotiate with so much consistency and clarity. Switzerland is no longer a nation that we observe with curiosity. It has become a credible and ambitious rival.
Next milestones: The Tokyo Worlds in September, where the best Swiss athletes will try to shake up the best athletes on the planet, but also the European championships under 20 and 23 this summer, where results are expected. “We are going with great ambitions,” announces Guex. Then, in 2027, Switzerland will compete for the third consecutive Europeans by teams in the first division. A regularity now acquired among the sixteen best nations on the continent.
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