Runner-up Nick Alpiger "I'm not doing myself any favors if I say I want to be wrestling king"

Nick Alpiger is a family man, carpenter and runner-up. Will he succeed in taking the throne at the Swiss Wrestling Festival in Mollis? The man from Aargau has opened the doors of his family home to blue Sport.

Nick Alpiger is one of the greats in the sport of wrestling. At 186 centimetres tall, he may look up to many of his opponents, but he still puts the fear of God into his competitors time and time again. The man from Aargau has already buried many giants in the sawdust.

Alpiger has collected 65 wreaths in his career, two of them at national championships. In 2016 in Estavayer-Le-Lac, he was crowned Swiss champion. In Zug, he had to pull out after four rounds due to an injury. In Pratteln, he came second and was promoted to runner-up. Can he pull off the next feat in his fourth participation?

"I'm not doing myself any favors when I say that I want to become wrestling king," says Alpiger, who welcomes blue Sport into his old living room four months before the season's highlight in Mollis.

As he sits in the garden of his parents' house in Staufen AG on this Thursday morning, Alpiger has already completed an interval training session. Full load, full intensity - for an hour. Surrounded by the trees of his brothers Rico and Gian and himself, the top wrestler gets chatting.

A "big piece of quality of life" acquired

"I'm doing well," says Alpiger. He has already completed four competitions in the still young wrestling season. He has won two of them. His conclusion: "I'm super satisfied. I was able to swing well. It can go on like this."

His success is no accident. It is the result of hard work in and around the sawdust. The fact that he was able to reduce his workload from 80 to 60 percent for the federal year plays into his hands. More flexibility in training, more time for relaxation and family. "That's a big part of my quality of life that I've earned."

Despite the days off on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Alpiger's day-to-day life is well-paced. "I don't like living into the day." He likes to know when something is coming up. That's why Alpiger doesn't look too far into the future. When training, he looks from week to week, there is no monthly plan.

Alpiger's Friday: yoga mat instead of sawdust

Alpiger is in the wrestling cellar twice a week, lifts weights three days a week under the guidance of trainer Giovanni and rolls out the yoga mat on Fridays. "Yoga gives me a sense of calm." Along with inner peace, the focus on the moment and flexibility are also positive results of his weekly practice. In addition to all the dogs, cows and cats (names of common yoga poses), Alpiger finds a balance in fishing. He regularly casts out his fishing rod on the lake.

Alpiger didn't always train the way he does now. He remembers his younger years: "I used to train all the time. No training? There was no such thing. But now I can listen to myself and sometimes skip a training session." But if he decides to train, he goes full throttle. In addition to learning how to skip a session from time to time, strength training was added this year. "I never used to want to do strength training. When I was still working as a bricklayer, I moved tons every day." Things are different today: as a carpenter, the physical strain is no longer as great as it was as a bricklayer.

However, it wasn't his profession that prompted him to take the step into the world of strength training, but his cruciate ligament rupture in September 2023. During his injury phase, he realized: "I need more tension in my thighs." A strength coach was needed. He found one in Giovanni.

Too little time for the family? - Injury phase triggered a lot

The cruciate ligament rupture was the initial spark for further development steps in his career. Earlier than usual after such an injury, Alpiger was back in the sawdust on June 1, 2024 and came second at the Aargau Cantonal Championships.

He was full of drive and wanted more. He put himself on the list of participants for three consecutive festivals. His doctor put the brakes on him. The strain on his knee would be brutal. Alpiger showed some insight and withdrew his participation in the Northwestern Switzerland Wrestling Festival - something his younger version would not have done. "As a person, I have never said no. But I'm glad that I did so at this point and gave up the festival." A learning process for Alpiger.

With his newly acquired ability to say no, he learned to appreciate his family even more. "If I'm honest, I hadn't made enough time for my family before." His family with wife Nadja and his two daughters Lara (9 months) and Tina (2) was a decisive factor in why he reduced his workload.

Swinging by reflex - writing to release pressure

Alpiger is an intuitive swinger. He can surprise his opponents at any time. "With me, a lot of things happen out of reflex." A reflex that he has trained himself to use - with practice and pen and paper.

Writing helps him to internalize what he has learned in training or at wrestling festivals. However, the written content now goes far beyond the sawdust. In one of his little books, he brings his inner world into the 3D world. "I write down my thoughts because it does me good and I can then let them go. I have no idea whether I'll ever read it again."

The Swiss Confederation is omnipresent in Alpiger's thoughts in Mollis. "Recently, I was arguing in my head that I don't know everything about Mollis yet." Where to sleep and other things are still uncertain. However, he wants to keep the focus on the present and spend as little time as possible thinking about the future. "I'm always unconsciously studying around Mollis. But I can always tell myself that it's still a long way off."

"If I become king, I certainly won't say no"

Things get serious at the end of August. "It will be a big deal. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm trying to be in the best physical and mental shape and give it my all. I want to take it aisle by aisle."

Aisle by aisle: he already wanted to do that in Pratteln. "I wanted to give my best in every gait back then. In hindsight, I didn't quite manage that." Nevertheless, he came second in Baselland in 2022.

So if things go better in Mollis than in Pratteln, there's only one thing left: the title of king. But Alpiger doesn't want to dwell on this term. "If I become king, I certainly won't say no." He doesn't want to put the burden on himself to talk about winning the festival as a goal. But he is aware of his chances.

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