The wrestling season ends on Sunday with the mountain festival on the Schwägalp. Fabian Staudenmann, co-festival winner on the Schwägalp, is more successful than anyone else with six victories.
Who won the most times?
Fabian Staudenmann from Bern has been crowned winner of a wreath festival no fewer than six times. The 24-year-old from Guggisberg not only shared the festival victory with Samuel Giger on the Schwägalp, but also won the Mittelländische, Oberländische, Rigi, Oberaargauische and Berner Kantonale in succession. Werner Schlegel follows in second place in this ranking with four wins, while Joel Strebel and Joel Wicki complete the podium with three successes. Giger "only" won two events - probably also because, like Wicki, he had to take a longer break due to injury.
Which federation was the most successful?
It was not Staudenmann's Bernese federation, but the north-eastern Swiss federation that was the most successful in the past season. Led by Schlegel, Giger and Armon Orlik (also two victories), a representative of the NOSV came out on top 13 times. Thanks mainly to Staudenmann, the Bernese have eleven victories, while the Central Swiss have eight. Two of the 38 wreath festivals ended with two winners, making a total of 40 festival winners this year.
Who won the most wreaths?
In the statistics of wreath winners relevant to the wrestlers, it was not the dominators who came out on top, but rather representatives of the second guard - albeit also from the two dominant associations from Bern and north-eastern Switzerland. Matthieu Burger (BKSV) and Domenic Schneider (NOSV) secured ten wreaths each. In the years without a federal festival - in which there is one less wreath to be won - at most one wrestler has cracked this mark in recent years: Kilian von Weissenfluh (2019) and Schneider once before (2021).
What's next?
The season is not over yet. On the contrary: the highlight of the year is still to come with the 125th anniversary of the Swiss Wrestling Federation on Sunday, September 8, in Appenzell. No wreaths will be handed out at this year's only meeting of the nation's best wrestlers - 122 participants are eligible to compete. Staudenmann and the north-east Swiss are also among the top contenders for victory.
