This weekend, not only World Cup points but also European Championship medals will be up for grabs in the ice track in St. Moritz. Important decisions have been made for the push athletes with a view to the Olympics.
09.01.2026, 05:00
SDA
The home races in the Olympic bobsleigh run with start in St. Moritz and finish in Celerina are just right. After three 4th places and a total of 22 in the top 8, the time seems ripe for the first Swiss podium finish of the season. It would be tantamount to European Championship medals, as this weekend's World Cup races also count as continental title fights. Last winter in Lillehammer, Melanie Hasler won silver in the monobob and Michael Vogt and his crew won bronze in the four-man event.
However, despite the motivation to do particularly well in front of the home fans, the overriding goal is still in the back of their minds. The name of the ice channel in the Upper Engadine is indeed an omen. St. Moritz is also the main rehearsal with the teams, as they are supposed to push at the Olympics in Cortina, and the chance to score the necessary points and meet the required Olympic standards.
Hasler and Vogt seeded
Two pilots each are likely to be seeded. Melanie Hasler and Michael Vogt are the clear Swiss number 1s and have fully met the Swiss Olympic selection criteria. Debora Annen has only managed this so far in the doubles, but in the monobob she has the "B-limit", but the daughter of three-time Olympic medal winner Martin Annen will certainly be able to benefit from the junior bonus. Cédric Follador from the Engadine does not (yet) have the selection in the bag, but can dispel the last doubts on his home track. He also meets the lower Swiss Olympic standards.
The path to nearby northern Italy is more complicated for Inola Blatty and Timo Rohner. On the one hand, they still have to secure the third quota place for Switzerland, and on the other, they have to meet the criteria of the national governing body.
In the women's event, there is only a chance of a third starting place in the doubles (in the monobob there are only two nations with three starters, Germany and the USA), with Canada currently just ahead. With a 7th and an 8th place, Blatty has fulfilled the lower standard and would probably be selected as a World Cup debutant with future potential. Timo Rohner's path appears to be somewhat more difficult. He is missing a top ten place in the World Cup, he currently only meets the "B-limit" by 50 percent and needs an exploit in St. Moritz or the following week in Altenberg - both for the Swiss-Olympic selection and to secure the third starting place for Switzerland.
Kora on the brink of historic Olympic participation
Of course, the luck of the push athletes also depends in part on the number of sleds selected. After the performance tests on the push-off track in Oberhof shortly before the turn of the year, the ranking of the pushers has basically been determined. The line-up of the teams in St. Moritz gives a clear indication of the push athletes at the Olympics.
In the women's event, something historic is on the horizon. Salomé Kora is set to become the first Swiss woman to take part in the Summer and Winter Olympics with the first training session on February 17. The top sprinter and bobsleigh debutant has established herself as the second-fastest pusher behind Nadja Pasternack and will be pushing Debora Annen in St. Moritz and, in all probability, in Cortina. Bobsleigh Switzerland 1 consists of Melanie Hasler and Pasternack, Switzerland 3 of Inola Blatty and Muswama Kambundji. The sister of sprint stars Mujinga and Ditaji will at least be a substitute athlete at the Olympics.
Special case Enrico Güntert
In the men's event, the planned two-man duos are Michael Hasler/Amadou Ndiaye, Cédric Follador/Enrico Güntert and Timo Rohner/Luca Rolli. Güntert left a lasting impression. The sprinter from the canton of Schaffhausen was the fastest starter, three hundredths ahead of Ndiaye. However, due to his inexperience - Güntert is also a novice in bobsleigh - he is not yet scheduled for the more demanding four-man event. However, he is a great promise for the future.
The nominations are not yet final and depend on the quota places achieved on the one hand and the selections made by Swiss Olympic on the other. The decision will be made after the last World Cup on January 18. Michael Vogt will skip this and instead "test" at the European Cup in Innsbruck, where two four-man races are on the program, in order to find his best possible crew with the big sled.
