Fabio Hiltbrunner's co-triumph at the Swiss Wrestling Jubilee Festival goes down as one of the biggest surprises in the history of the sport. It all started with a carefree attitude.
08.09.2024, 20:50
09.09.2024, 15:18
SDA
Little Fabio Hiltbrunner is sitting in his parents' house, wearing a yellow sweater from the Sumiswald wrestling club and listing in broad Bernese German all the things he has already won in wrestling: "Six or seven Glöggli, a crossbow, four Küngel, a stable."
A few years have passed since the SRF recordings. Little Fabio, who once played football but switched to wrestling due to a lack of success and the significantly better prices, has become a young man. The mullet has given way to a short haircut, the yellow sweater to a burgundy shirt. And yes, even the prizes have changed.
Late on Sunday evening, the Emmentaler, who recently turned 19, not only received the "Schönschwingerpreis" - the fountain made especially for the festival - but also Zenita cattle. The latter for the greatest success in his still young career, in which he has won eight wreaths so far, but not yet a wreath festival.
"Indescribable, I can't put it into words"
Adrian Walther could have pulled off a coup. Fabian Staudenmann anyway. Perhaps also veteran Matthias Aeschbacher or the young Michael Moser, this up-and-coming Emmentaler. However, even the boldest optimists had not assumed before the anniversary celebration that Fabio Hiltbrunner, the other talented athlete from the Emmental camp, would ultimately be carried on the shoulders of his Bernese association colleagues together with Staudenmann.
And even Hiltbrunner himself had to pinch himself after the festival, barely finding words for his coup. "Indescribable, I can't put it into words." He thanked his family and those around him, especially his club colleagues. However, Hiltbrunner did not say more than the usual phrases.
Who can blame him, after all, a 4th place at the Bergkranzfest this July on the Rigi was the highest of feelings so far. However, it is a little surprising that Hiltbrunner was not able to articulate himself better. On Sunday, he did not appear as unconcerned in front of the camera as he did a few years ago when he talked about his fights, but he did in the sawdust.
