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![Swiss sprinters like Sarah Atcho (r.) And Mujinga Kambundji currently have a lot to cheer about.]()
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Swiss sprinters like Sarah Atcho (r.) And Mujinga Kambundji currently have a lot to cheer about.
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![The Swiss are currently taking off.]()
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The Swiss are currently taking off.
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![Kambundji defeated two-time world champion Dafne Schippers (right) last week.]()
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Kambundji defeated two-time world champion Dafne Schippers (right) last week.
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![Salomé Kora has been part of the extended Swiss top for years.]()
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Salomé Kora has been part of the extended Swiss top for years.
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![The women's sprint relay has seen a boom in recent years.]()
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The women’s sprint relay has seen a boom in recent years.
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Mujinga Kambundji (28) showed the way. At the start of the season, the Bernese sprinted over 200 m in a world-class field in third place last Wednesday in the Czech Republic, leaving two-time world champion and Olympic silver medalist Dafne Schippers (Ho) behind in the final meters. It could hardly be better at the start of the season. Especially against the background that the World Cup third place over 200 m from 2019 did not contest a serious competition for nine months and was plagued with injuries. “Time is not that important,” says Kambundji’s trainer Adrian Rothenbühler. “You have to realize that you are on the right track, that you are competitive.”
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Kambundji’s start is a foretaste of what Swiss athletics fans could expect in this Olympic season: Summer is going to be fast!
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Wicki and Reais got off to a strong start
In addition to Kambundji, there is of course Ajla Del Ponte (24), the fastest woman in Europe over 100 m last season. But there is more to it than that: Silvan Wicki (100 m) and William Reais (200 m) both have solid competitions under their feet, record sprinter Alex Wilson is still in training camp in Florida. For the European Indoor Championships in Poland last winter, seven women reached the limit over 60 m, only three were allowed to ride!
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How come that little Switzerland of all places has so many fast sprinters? There is the “Kids Cup” sponsored by UBS, which brings hundreds of thousands of children and young people into contact with athletics and its stars, and which only brings many into sport.
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There are the earlier successes of the 4×100 m relay around Kambundji and Lea Sprunger under the then coach Laurent Meuwly. “I really wanted to be in this season,” says Ajla Del Ponte.
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There is Kambundji’s former coach Valerij Bauer, whose methods Swiss coaches have adopted and adapted in the middle of the last decade.
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The association’s selection strategy is paying off
Swiss Athletics’ selection strategy also seems to have an effect. The Swiss follow the official recommendations of the international association and are therefore less strict than other nations. The effect: The motivation of the young hopes increases when they are allowed to attend major junior events early on. “That gives them a lot, even if they may not get past the heats in the first year,” says sprint national coach Patrick Saile. “Whether as a drive, as a confirmation or simply to survive against international competition. That has proven itself very well. “
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So much so that now even the 400 m runners seem to explode on the short distance. With Ricky Petrucciani, a 400 m specialist in Ostrava (Tsch) runs the 100 m in 10.33 seconds. “We would have cheered about it a few years ago,” says Saile. It’s almost normal now. As befits a sprint nation.
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