Samuel Giger Won a Bull Weighing One Point Two Tonnes at the Swiss Wrestling Festival Held Only Once Every Six Years
Ten thousand invited spectators watched the Kilchberger Schwinget, where sixty wrestlers competed and no wreaths are awarded.
Samuel Giger won the Kilchberger Schwinget at the Gutshof Uf Stocken on the shore of Lake Zurich on 5 September 2026, becoming only the second man to retain Swiss wrestling's most exclusive title.
Giger, from the north-eastern association, finished with 58.50 points. Marcel Bieri of Innerschweiz was second on 57.00 and Michael Moser third on 56.75. Five wrestlers shared fourth place on 56.50, among them the pre-event favourite Fabian Staudenmann, who had won his previous five crown festivals. Giger beat Bieri in the closing bout with a short-pull throw after about two minutes, having floored Moser in 45 seconds in the fifth round.
The winner's prize was a bull named Ultimo weighing 1.2 tonnes. Uniquely among Swiss wrestling festivals, no wreaths are awarded at Kilchberg.
The event is staged only once every six years, always in the year after the federal wrestling and alpine festival. Exactly sixty wrestlers take part, against about 270 at the federal event, competing over six rounds and 169 pairings between half past eight in the morning and the final bout at five in the afternoon. All ten thousand tickets are distributed by invitation through the Zurich wrestling club and the regional associations, and none are sold to the public.
Giger had not competed since late May because of a shoulder injury, and won five of his six bouts outright. The last man to defend the title was Karl Meli, who won in 1967 and 1973. For the second edition in a row, no Bernese wrestler reached the final.