Defense Swiss sports stars start recruit school

Next Monday, 70 athletes will start the Swiss Armed Forces' top sports recruit school in Magglingen BE. Among them are prominent names such as world record swimmer Noè Ponti and Olympic gymnast Matteo Giubellini.

46 men and 24 women from a total of 19 different sports will become recruits, as announced on Wednesday by the Armed Forces Sports Competence Center, which is part of the Department of Defence.

The largest delegation is made up of cyclists, eleven of whom are starting recruit school (RS). Athletics is also well represented with ten recruits. Among them is Emma Van Camp from Valais, who represented Switzerland at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Rowing is the third best represented sport. This is followed by the swimming delegation. Ticino's Noè Ponti, who recently set a new record in the short course pool over 50 meters at the World Cup in Shanghai, China, will also be there. He won a bronze medal in Tokyo in 2020.

In artistic gymnastics, women are also joining the top sport promotion program for the first time. The 20-year-old gymnast Matteo Giubellini from Aargau will also be a recruit. He came 10th in the all-around competition at the Olympic Games in Paris - the best Swiss result since 1952. Other sports represented in the RS include wrestling, football and tennis.

According to the Competence Center for Sport, the elite sport RS lasts a total of 18 weeks. In the first three weeks, the focus is on basic military training. This is followed by two weeks in which the athletes focus intensively on career planning. The remaining weeks are spent training.

SDA