After his medal coup at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta, Noe Seifert talks about his historic success and his plans for the future.
23.10.2025, 14:27
23.10.2025, 14:52
SDA
On Wednesday in Jakarta, Noe Seifert became the first Swiss gymnast in 75 years to win a medal in the all-around at a world championships. The day after, he talks to the Keystone-SDA news agency about the short night, the reasons for his historic success and what's next.
Noe Seifert, how do you classify winning the World Championship bronze medal in the all-around with one night in between?
"The whole thing is still so close that it's difficult to fully realize it yet. It still needs a little time."
Did you sleep at all?
"Not really much. It was a short night, but it was definitely worth staying up late. We spent a cozy evening in the hotel with the entire Swiss delegation. It was cool. I'm sure we'll be celebrating outside several more times over the next few days."
What do you think are the main reasons for winning the medal?
"I think there are a lot of factors that come together and ensure that everything worked out so perfectly. It helped that I didn't start the competition as the favorite from my point of view. As a result, I wasn't particularly nervous, I didn't feel any great pressure and took it one apparatus at a time. That's how it worked out."
Did you feel it was going to be a good day?
"No. When I got up, I thought it was going to be horror. I slept well, but I had back pain and didn't feel in top shape. But when I moved properly for the first time in training, it was already better."
Does that mean your back is still causing you problems?
"Yes, my back will never be really good at gymnastics again. I always feel pain, but it doesn't get any worse, so I have it under control. Sometimes it's better, sometimes less so. I've gotten used to it a bit. I don't train floor and vault as often. But that's not a problem because I don't do the most difficult exercises in these disciplines. That's why it works."
At the end of May, you missed out on your first medal in the all-around at international championships with a botched dismount on high bar at the European Championships in Leipzig. Now the high bar was the last apparatus again and the starting position was similar. Did that go through your mind?
"No, not at all. I didn't even know exactly how many points I had. I just wanted to show a good routine. If I had thought about it, it probably wouldn't have come out well."
Did you work mentally on this?
"No, not specifically for this competition. But I think the experience I gained in Leipzig certainly helped me a lot, as did the other experience I've gained over the years. That helps you to deal with situations like this. I also worked a lot on my dismount on the high bar. It wasn't the first time that this was my downfall in Leipzig. That's why I changed my technique there."
Last year, you missed out on the all-around final at the Olympic Games in Paris because you were only the third-best Swiss in the qualification. Did that give you an extra kick?
"I can't really say that. But what I experienced there helped me. It was my biggest competition to date and I felt a lot of pressure because I had been working towards it for four years. When you've experienced something like that, other competitions are almost easy."
With Florian Langenegger in tenth place, a second Swiss made it into the top ten in the all-around final. At the European Championships in Leipzig, you won silver with the team, the best result ever achieved by a Swiss team in artistic gymnastics. The successes continued seamlessly after the retirement of the "golden" generation around Pablo Brägger and Oliver Hegi. What do you think are the reasons for this?
"We certainly have a good coaching team, the infrastructure and everything around it is right, and we are well supported by the association. In addition, there have been no major injuries in the team, so everyone has been able to train well and make progress. We push each other. This is now reflected in the results."
To what extent have you benefited from Brägger and Co.
"They certainly helped. It was difficult for us to make the team (at major events) at that time. They set a high limit, which motivated us in training to do more difficult gymnastics and get better."
The long-term goal is the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Where do you see the greatest potential for improvement between now and then?
"I would certainly like to increase my chances of reaching the individual final at a World Championships (top 8) on parallel bars and high bar. Not much was missing here (10th place on high bar and 13th place on parallel bars). I can perform more difficult gymnastics on both apparatus, but I still lack stability. I have to find the right balance."
Last question, what's next after your return? What else is on the agenda this year?
"I'll be performing twice more in the national league (for Frankfurt) in November and competing in the Swiss team championships. Then maybe the final in the national league is on the program. But I'm not doing any more all-around competitions, I'm only doing three more apparatus. After that, I need a break."
