At the Summer Games, medal predictions are much more difficult for the Swiss than in the winter. But the level and demands have also increased in summer sports. A former problem child has become a role model.
Sport sometimes creates moments where you have to pinch yourself to believe what you see. July 27, 2021, the day is still young in Switzerland, you sip your first coffee, look at your cell phone and see: gold, silver and bronze for Switzerland in Tokyo. Led by Jolanda Neff, three young mountain bikers have cycled past the rest of the world.
In the end, there were thirteen medals, a record for Switzerland at the Summer Games since the sport became increasingly more international and professional from the mid-1960s onwards. Will there be an increase now? Ralph Stöckli, Swiss Olympic’s Chef de Mission, is cautious. “In Tokyo, we seized the opportunity,” he says, “we can’t expect that to always happen.”
The boss does not want to give a forecast
How many medals will there be? Stöckli is not prepared to make a prediction. On average, there have been five medals at the Summer Games since 1972, and the number has only reached double figures in Tokyo. If there are half a dozen podium places in Paris, there should be no disappointment.
Predictions are tricky at the Olympic Games, especially for a small country like Switzerland. One reason for this is that although a team of 128 athletes competes under the national flag, in reality a good three dozen world championships are held in Paris, and the competitive situation and the conditions of the associations are by no means the same everywhere.
From a Swiss perspective, this is a big difference to the Winter Games, where all snow sports disciplines are brought together by Swiss Ski. This association has been professionalized from the ground up in recent years. The result: in 2018 and 2022, Switzerland won fifteen medals each year; in Pyeongchang, Swiss Ski won thirteen medals, and most recently in Beijing, all fifteen.
There is no association in summer sports that is as well positioned financially as Swiss Ski with its annual budget of over 70 million francs. Medals are therefore not always products of the association. Roger Federer, Nicola Spirig, Jolanda Neff and Fabian Cancellara are just a few examples of medals being based on professional structures outside the respective association.
And yet the associations are important drivers of Olympic sport, and according to the head of mission Stöckli, some have become very professional in recent years. “Even in major sports, the Swiss are now close to winning medals,” he says. Swimming and athletics are examples of this, with swimmers even celebrating two podium places in Tokyo in 2021 thanks to Noè Ponti and Jérémy Desplanches.
According to Stöckli, athletics serves as a role model. “Swiss Athletics has essentially reinvented the sport in times of need.” The association was on the verge of bankruptcy after the turn of the millennium and used the 2014 European Championships to launch various support measures for athletes down to primary school age. Since then, international success has become almost the norm, with nine medals most recently being won at the European Championships in Rome in June.
Several victories in the Diamond League have shown that an Olympic podium finish is also possible this year. It would be the first for Swiss athletics since shot putter Werner Günthör won the bronze medal in 1988.
But athletics is also an example of the fact that you don’t always need a medal to trigger great euphoria. Ralph Stöckli remembers Ajla Del Ponte and Mujinga Kambundji, who reached the 100-meter final in Tokyo. And the Swiss national football team, which shook up the country this summer despite being eliminated in the quarter-finals.
Euphoria even without medals
A football team can get into a flow at a tournament and develop a story over the course of weeks that captivates the audience. This is more difficult at the Olympic Games because individual athletes often only appear once and then leave again soon after. This makes big figures like Roger Federer, Nicola Spirig, Martina Hingis or Fabian Cancellara all the more important. They shine for years and are eventually considered part of the family by the audience.
The athletes mentioned above have all retired, and there are only a few really big names in the Swiss 2024 Olympic squad. Does that mean that there are no leading figures for the team? “Role models are very important,” says Stöckli, “even more so over time than at the Games themselves.” Everyone is very focused during the competitions. “But sport is not always sunshine and roses. When there are setbacks, hunger must be greater than disappointment – it helps to have positive examples.”
In the Olympic Village, it is not always just the stars who get others excited; they themselves enjoy the atmosphere of a colorful bunch of highly talented athletes. Stöckli cites tennis pros Martina Hingis and Timea Bacsinszky as examples. In 2016, Swiss Olympic organized their own quarters near the tennis facility. Then they came to the athletes’ village for a day – and didn’t want to leave. They found the flow and won silver in the doubles.
They are the biggest Swiss medal hopes
Mathias Flückiger, mountain bike. He has been at the forefront of the World Cup for years and yet is always second, always in the shadow of his compatriot Nino Schurter. Flückiger won silver at the 2021 Games, and now, at the age of 35, he wants to get back on the podium. Two second places in the last two World Cup races show that he is in good form. In May, the disciplinary chamber acquitted him of doping suspicions after almost two years of proceedings. But the case could be taken further.
Roman Röösli/Andrin Gulich, rowing. There is hardly a better way to get in the mood for the Olympics: In mid-June, Röösli and Gulich won the overall World Cup in the coxless pair. The duo was only formed in 2023 – and immediately won World and European Championship gold. Now it’s now or never for the two of them. At 30, Röösli is the oldest Swiss top rower, and a medal in Paris is his ultimate goal. Gulich (25) will have to look for a new boat next year.
Nina Christen, shooting. The term “shooting star” applies to her: At the 2021 Games in Tokyo, she surprised everyone when she won bronze with the air rifle – and a week later she became Olympic champion in the small-bore three-position match. Christen had thus fulfilled a lifelong dream, but it did not only make her happy. The 30-year-old fell into a post-Olympic depression. But with a new coach, she fought her way back to the top of the world.
Martin Fuchs, Springreiten. It’s a banality, but without an outstanding horse, the best rider has no chance. Clooney was one such horse for Fuchs; the two topped the world rankings and became European champions in 2021. But shortly after the 2021 Summer Games, the gelding injured his shoulder and was taken out of the sport. At the time, Fuchs already had another top horse in the stable: Leone Jei. With him, he is one of the favorites in Paris.
Simon Ehammer, athletics. The 24-year-old is a multi-talented athlete and the first athlete in the world to win medals in both the all-around and an individual discipline at championships. This year he became indoor world champion in the heptathlon, and at the outdoor European Championships he secured bronze in the long jump. Ehammer dreamed of a double start in Paris, but decided on the long jump because he does not want to be tired when competing in the discipline in which he will be number two in the world in 2024.