Among the 29 French-speaking wrestlers present at the Pratteln Federal Festival, 15 obtained the necessary points to continue the adventure on Sunday. The “Welsches” will not win the final victory, but they are in the race to bring back several crowns, the distinctions which reward the best wrestlers of a competition.
The “cut” of the 1st day was fixed at 35.75 points after the addition of the first four assists (fights). Of the 274 wrestlers selected for this 46th Federal, 70 saw their journey come to an end on Saturday. The Fribourgeois Sven Hofer, ranked provisionally 6E, and Romain Collaud (8A) were the most comfortable Romands. Lario Kramer and Benjamin Gapany, leaders of the Romandie section, are currently a little behind, but they had to face high level opponents.
More than half of the delegation is qualified for Sunday, it was our 1st goal
“Saturday was a satisfying day for the Swiss Romande Wrestling Association (ARLS). More than half of the delegation is qualified for Sunday, it was our first goal. On the other hand, we would have liked to have had more wrestlers at the top of the ranking“, says Blaise Decrauzat, spokesperson for the Romand wrestlers.
Before the start of the competition, the ARLS announced that they wanted to do at least as well as in Zug (2019) by seizing three crowns. This objective remains valid. “Halfway through, Sven Hofer, Romain Collaud, Steven Moser, Johann Borcard, Benjamin Gapany, Dorian and Lario Kramer are our best assets. We have the means to have three, even four crowns“, adds Blaise Decrauzat.
Day to forget for Giger
On the side of the favorites, the sensation was the defeat of Samuel Giger during the 3rd pass against Joel Strebel. Dominating throughout the season, the 24-year-old Thurgovian was surprised and was able to say goodbye to his dreams of a coronation. Defending champion, Bernese Christian Stucki had a good first part of the celebration with three wins and a loss. However, he will not be able to repeat his performance from three years ago.
![Pratteln (SUI), Gieger Samuel – Strebel Joel: le favori Gieger Samuel mis au tapis par Strebel Joel [RTS]](https://i2.wp.com/www.rts.ch/2022/08/27/14/52/13337925.image?w=960&h=540&ssl=1)
Sebastien Schorderet