Swiss wrestling champion Joel Wicki caps off memorable career

Rise to become a top wrestler: Joel Wicki (left) won the final of the Federal Wrestling and Alpine Games Festival (Schwingfest) in 2022. SRF

Joel Wicki, one of the most successful Swiss wrestlers of his generation, has announced his retirement. The 2022 champion of Swiss wrestling, known as Schwingen, enjoyed a remarkable career marked by spectacular victories as well as repeated setbacks due to injuries.

When Wicki stepped into the sawdust ring, one thing was clear: hesitation was not his style. The wrestler from central Switzerland was known for his offensive approach, confidence and willingness to decide a bout quickly. These qualities made the 28-year-old one of the dominant figures of modern Schwingen.

Now Wicki has announced his retirement. He is one of only two wrestlers from the Central Switzerland wrestling association ever to be crowned the king of Schwingen (Schwingerkönig). His defining moment came on August 28, 2022, when he defeated Bernese wrestler Matthias Aeschbacher in the final after an intense 12 minutes and 41 seconds. At 25, Wicki reached the pinnacle of a career that was already rich in success.

Three years earlier, at the 2019 Federal Wrestling and Alpine Festival in Zug, Wicki had narrowly missed the title, losing the final to Christian Stucki and finishing as first crowned runner-up. By the 2022 championships, however, he was a seasoned competitor and among the favourites to win.

Early success and rapid rise

Wicki’s talent was evident early on. In 2013, at just 16, he competed at the senior level for the first time and immediately won his first wreath at the Lucerne Cantonal Wrestling Festival. The Entlebuch native rose quickly through the ranks. Despite not being among the tallest wrestlers at 1.82m, his technical skill and athleticism soon made wreath victories almost routine.

Relevant and up to date: the SWIplus app brings you the most important information and news from Switzerland. Download it now!

At 18, Wicki claimed his first festival victory at Schwarzsee, the first of 28 wins. There could have been more, had his career not been repeatedly interrupted by injury.

Setbacks through injury

Wicki’s injury troubles began in 2016, when he broke his fibula at the Federal Wrestling and Alpine Festival on the Schwägalp. He missed the following season highlight in Estavayer-le-Lac. Less than a year later, he injured his ankle on the Rigi but returned just in time for the Unspunnenfest in 2017, where he finished second behind Stucki.

Further injuries followed. But Wicki consistently returned for major events. He competed at the 2019 Federal Festival, the Kilchberg-Schwinget in 2021 and, most notably, his triumphant Federal Festival in 2022. In 2023, an elbow injury sustained at the Brünig-Schwinget forced him to withdraw from the Unspunnenfest later that year.

His final injury came in 2024, when a knee problem delayed the start of the season. Nevertheless, Wicki returned strongly in 2025. He celebrated his comeback at the Central Switzerland Schwingfest and finally secured the long-awaited victory at the Brünig-Schwinget. Last August, he won his third federal wreath in Glarus.

A lasting legacy

That performance marked the final highlight of his competitive career. Wicki has now decided to step away from active wrestling, after years defined by both triumph and adversity.

His name will remain closely associated with one of the most memorable finals in Schwingen history – and a career that secured him a lasting place among the sport’s greats.

The successes of Joel Wicki

Wrestling king in Pratteln 2022
First crowned at the Swiss Confederation in Zug 2019
Three federal wreaths
Twenty-eight wreath victories
A total of 76 wreaths
Four victories at the Central Switzerland sub-association festival (2018, 2022, 2023, 2025)
Eight mountain festival victories (Once at Schwarzsee, four times at Stoos, twice at Rigi, once at Brünig).

Translated from German using AI/amva/gw

How we translate with AI

We use automatic translation tools, such as DeepL and Google Translate, for some content.  

Each translated article is carefully reviewed by a journalist for accuracy. Using translation tools gives us the time for more in-depth articles. 

Learn more here about how we work with AI.