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Joel Wicki has become even more popular after winning the Federal. He is also very busy during the cold season.
It’s been two and a half months since Joel Wicki celebrated the high point of his wrestling career in Pratteln. In the final round of the Federal, he put Matthias Aeschbacher from Bern on his back.
“I watched the final walk many times,” says the 25-year-old in retrospect. Although he actually had no more energy, he was able to assert himself in tough struggles. “You can neither plan nor practice that, in the end it’s your head that decides,” Wicki reminisces.
Ambassador for mower company
In autumn it has become quieter around the Entlebucher. That doesn’t mean he stayed idle. He runs an excavator company and works on his own farm. He also attends an agricultural college and indulges in his hobby of hunting.
The appointment calendar of the king of wrestling also fills engagements that are not quite everyday. He is now an ambassador for a company that sells mowers. Or he takes part in a panel on competitive sports in Willisau, visits events in shopping centers and takes on other sponsorship obligations.
I have a good environment that helps me when I’m in need.
Are the activities more of a burden or a pleasure? “I’m glad that’s the way it is now and that I was able to fulfill my dream. But you take more photos than before,” says Wicki. As the ESAF 2019 first crowner, he has been in the limelight before and got used to the hype. Nevertheless, even better organization is needed now. “I have a good environment that helps me when I’m in need.”
Keep going with Hüsler
There is also sporty news: his coach and confidante Dani Hüsler will continue to accompany Wicki in the future. He has committed himself to the Federal 2025 in Glarus.
Legend:
According to Wicki’s own statements, like a family member
The wrestling king trusts his trainer Dani Hüsler almost blindly.
Keystone/Urs Flüeler
Although he has already achieved his greatest goal with the victory in Pratteln, Wicki has not run out of goals. “You have to see that you can improve again. Let’s try that now. We’ll see if it goes well, »he says pragmatically.
Unspunnen and anniversary swings are the next highlights
There will be no shortage of major events in the near future, which suit the ambitious king so well: in 2023 the Unspunnen-Schwinget is coming up, and in 2024 the celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Swiss wrestling association in Appenzell, which has been postponed by four years.
But it is clear that the great pressure is gone. “What comes next is just an encore. I have nothing left to lose, »says Wicki. The most important thing for him anyway is that he stays accident- and injury-free.