Lukas Britschgi sees the glass half full despite narrowly missing out on a European Championship medal. He is aiming for a diploma at the Olympic Games.
28.01.2026, 05:00
28.01.2026, 07:01
SDA
Some people see the glass as half empty, others see it as half full. Lukas Britschgi definitely belongs to the latter category. Last week, he finished fourth at the European Championships in Sheffield, missing out on the podium by just 1.37 points, despite falling well short of his potential, particularly in the free skate.
Nevertheless, it was only "to a certain extent" a disappointment for Britschgi, as he looks at the positive side of things. "Despite the less than ideal performance, it was enough for 4th place, which is very good from a sober point of view," says the 27-year-old from Schaffhausen in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency.
It was also positive for him that he received the highest score in the program components for artistic expression in the short program and the second highest in the free skating - all the more remarkable in view of the technical errors. Although there are deductions in the A grade for this, these always affect the B grade as well. "It is therefore motivating for me to see that my two programs are appreciated even with mistakes and that they are well received by the judges."
Sees the big picture
Britschgi not only sees the glass half full, he also looks beyond the end of his nose and wears his heart on his sleeve. "I'll be honest: to get on the podium with a freestyle like that - I don't know. I almost begrudge the third-placed skater (Czech Georgii Reshtenko, editor's note) more. He may not be the best skater, but he has already shown very, very strong technical programs. If I had smuggled myself to the front with so many mistakes, I wouldn't have felt completely comfortable. But logically, I wouldn't have said no to a bronze medal."
Britschgi also saw the big picture in other respects: "I was a bit spoiled by my performances in previous seasons and was almost always able to perform at my level. The fact that this was not the case is human nature." One factor was the pressure, as he was competing in Sheffield as the defending champion, which raised his own expectations - he can cope well with those from outside.
"I was pretty tense in both programs," says Britschgi. "I need a certain amount of tension, but I wanted too much, especially in the short program. That's why I think it was good to have a bit of a damper." He hopes that this will lower his expectations and that he will be able to concentrate better on his programs again - without thinking: "I have to do this and that in order to win a medal."
Second Olympic Games
However, Britschgi has also set himself a high goal for the Olympic Games in Milan by achieving a diploma. To do so, he would have to make it into the top 8. He is aware that not everything is in his hands in view of the strong competition. "If everyone runs flawlessly, it will be difficult," says Britschgi. He proved that it is possible at the 2024 World Championships, when he achieved the best competition of his career to date with 274.09 points and finished in 6th place.
Britschgi is taking part in the Olympic Games for the second time since 2022. There he did not finish higher than 23rd place. Although he found his time in Beijing "mega cool" despite the coronavirus restrictions in place at the time and didn't find the whole thing as negative as many others, he is of course delighted to now be able to experience normal Olympic Games and watch other competitions.
First, however, he still has some work to do at his training base in Oberstdorf to regain more confidence in the technical area. "I'm not getting any younger and I can already see that things aren't getting any easier. It takes more and more to maintain the status quo." But his glass is half full.
