Source: Keystone
17 years ago today, on May 11, 2003, the King of the Wrestling Christian Stucki celebrated the first wreath festival victory with the triumph at the Emmental Wrestling Festival in Wasen. It is the start of a great career.
After the premier win, the national sports agency wrote that Stucki would sooner or later be a serious contender for winning the Schwingerkönig title. At that time, the then 18-year-old from Zeeland did not think so far, but this success had definitely given him a boost.
However, sport in sawdust was not everything at the time. Stucki speaks of youth sins. “I had a lot of fun swinging, but I also wanted to enjoy life and go out with colleagues.” The right click was made after the Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival 2013 in Burgdorf, where he finished 2nd after a defeat in the final against Matthias Sempach. Although he had trained well before, after this success he approached everything even more professionally. Last August he was crowned with the triumph at the «Federal» in Zug.
42 wreath festivities and 128 wreaths
«Maybe it would have worked if I had invested more earlier. But it turned out well, I can be satisfied with my success, »Stucki says on the phone to the Keystone-SDA news agency. 42 wreath festivities and 128 wreaths adorn his impressive Palmarès. However, success in Zug could not have been expected, as Stucki suffered an internal ligament tear in his left knee in May 2019 and only made a comeback three weeks before the event in Zug. That was an advantage for him, “as I moved out of focus and was able to look at the whole thing relatively relaxed.” In addition, the physical exertions that a season brings with him no longer apply.
Stucki, who was named “Swiss Athlete of the Year” in December, is now recognized even more. Is that sometimes tedious? «It depends on the form of the day. We are all human beings and cannot always be in a good mood. Sometimes I make a good face to a quasi bad game. But it’s not that it’s annoying or that I always feel annoyed. That is part of being in public. »
«Sometimes I was almost too nice and defended myself too little»
In any case, Stucki is someone who already stands out from the stature – he is 1.98 m tall and weighs in the range of 140 kg. He fell out of the ordinary as a child. Was that why he was sometimes teased? «I wouldn’t say teased. I have always been a “dear Chaib”. Sometimes I was almost too sweet and struggled too little. » But how does this character fit in with the swing, in which the athletes are called “the bad guys”? «The fight man against man is something different from everyday life, I can switch over there. But surely sometimes it would not be bad if the character traits were different. »
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Christian Stucki cheers, Joel Wicki on the ground – the Berner Hüne is the new wrestling king
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The decisive moment in the final course: Christian Stucki puts Joel Wicki on his back
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Christian Stucki celebrates his victory in the final course against Joel Wicki
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The two final course participants Christian Stucki (right) and Joel Wicki are lifted up by their comrades. Finally, Wicki is number 1 in the ranking with Stucki; he may call himself “first crowned”
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Joel Wicki before the final course at the fountain
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Christian Stucki clenches his fists. He is a king of wrestlers
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Christian Stucki celebrates his triumph with his teammates from Bern
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Christian Stucki is the king of wrestling
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Christian Stucki cheers, Joel Wicki on the ground – the Berner Hüne is the new wrestling king
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The decisive moment in the final course: Christian Stucki puts Joel Wicki on his back
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Christian Stucki celebrates his victory in the final course against Joel Wicki
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The two final course participants Christian Stucki (right) and Joel Wicki are lifted up by their comrades. Finally, Wicki is number 1 in the ranking with Stucki; he may call himself “first crowned”
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Joel Wicki before the final course at the fountain
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Christian Stucki clenches his fists. He is a king of wrestlers
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Christian Stucki celebrates his triumph with his teammates from Bern
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In addition to the man-to-man fight, Stucki is fascinated by swinging around, the colleagues. “You are an enemy in sawdust and ten minutes later you joke together in the dressing room,” says Stucki. The fact that he can no longer live out his passion for the corona virus – all wreath celebrations were canceled by the end of August – «is quite difficult. But it is also a relief. The uncertainty was what hit morale. Now we can reschedule for the next season ».
“I will definitely continue until Pratteln 2022”
Does the lost season mean that he will now extend his career by a year, after all, can some capital be made of the Schwingerkönig title? «I’ve already considered that. I will definitely continue to Pratteln (where the federal will take place in 2022). Then I look at how to do it. But it is certainly not inconceivable to add another season. » After all, Stucki now knows his body so well that he knows exactly when he can do what and when he needs relaxation.
But all of this is a dream of the future. At the moment he enjoys not having so many commitments and being able to spend more time with the family. He works as a truck driver three days a week, otherwise he looks after the two children and helps his wife “as well as possible” around the house. “This is certainly a positive aspect of the whole crisis,” says Stucki.
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