First bicycle accident, now podium
Britschgi after the EM coup “like in a trance”
Lukas Britschgi (24) ends a twelve-year Swiss dry spell in figure skating with bronze at the European Championships – even though he didn’t know for a long time whether he would even be able to take part in Finland.
Published: 13 minutes ago
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Updated: 11 minutes ago
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Lukas Britschgi proudly poses with a flag and the European Championship medal.
Marco Pescioreporter sports
Lukas Britschgi is struggling for words to describe what he is feeling. It was “overwhelming”, “fake”, “hard to believe”: He felt “like in a trance”, says the 24-year-old from Schaffhausen with a laugh. One day later, he still hasn’t really realized his EM coup. On Friday, thanks to the second best freestyle of all finalists in Espoo, Finland, he won the bronze medal at the European Figure Skating Championships.
It is the first EM podium for Switzerland in twelve years. In 2011, Sarah van Berkel (formerly Meier) won gold in Bern. Now finally another talent follows suit.
For Britschgi, who finished 23rd at the Olympic Games in 2022, it is the best career result so far. And a big surprise. For a long time it was not certain that he would even be able to compete in Finland. At the end of November, a traffic accident threw him back when he slipped on his bike on a frozen road and broke his collarbone.
The goal was a top 10 place
Britschgi didn’t really start training again until after Christmas. And the goal for the European Championship was actually a top 10 place, as he reveals: “I knew that I was in okay shape despite the accident. But that good?! I do not know what to say.”
With his medal, Britschgi is also following in the footsteps of his great idol and mentor Stéphane Lambiel (37), who won silver at the 2006, 2008 and 2010 European Championships. “I am very honored to be the next successful man. But Lambiel is still a completely different league for me, »says Britschgi, referring to Olympic silver, two World Cup gold and one World Cup bronze of the exceptional figure skater who retired in 2010.
But then Britschgi, who also wants to attack at the World Cup in Japan at the end of March, adds with a smile: “My goal is to get closer to him. And: From now on, I’m happy to accept such surprises as here in Finland.”
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