50 years ago, Don Widmer from California was the first American to win a wreath at the Federal Wrestling Festival – an almost unbelievable achievement from today’s perspective. Now his son Grant is taking part in the big event. Before the party there was an official reception for the two in Muotathal.
The US-born wrestler Don Widmer surprises in 1972 in La Chaux-de-Fonds by winning a federal crown.
“Don Widmer, Rahmschnitzel” is written on the name tag of the man who introduces himself with a firm handshake. So there he is: the first Native American in the history of wrestling to win a wreath at a federal event. Don Widmer did it 50 years ago, in La Chaux-de-Fonds. In order to advance into this illustrious guild, you have to place yourself somewhere in the top sixth of the rankings.
From today’s perspective, this is an almost unbelievable achievement. Because if a US wrestler comes to the federal government today, he has practically no chance of distributing the wreath. Nevertheless, Grant Widmer is also attempting the task this weekend in Pratteln. He is Don’s son and was the top wrestler on the US west coast this season. Wherever he competed, he won the festival.
Don Widmer said to himself: «Oh my goodness, what am I doing here? I could lie in the sun in California.”
The Widmers are invited to the Schwingerlokal Alpenrösli in Muotathal on Wednesday evening. There, in the furthest corner of the Canton of Schwyz, the four American wrestlers who compete in Pratteln will be welcomed. The Schmidig family band plays lively songs, there are cream schnitzel or pork steak with noodles – hence the addition to Don Widmer’s name tag so that the waitress knows what he has ordered.
Son and father at the reception in the Muotathal: Grant Widmer (left), 29 years old, police officer, is taking part in the federal conference for the first time this weekend. Don Widmer, 74 years old, no longer swings – and is far from thinking about retirement.
It is the first time since 1980 that Don Widmer is back in Switzerland. It was in St. Gallen that he took part in the federal competition for the last time. But the wreath, like eight years earlier, was not enough for him. When Widmer is asked what he thinks of when he remembers his historic coup in La Chaux-de-Fonds, he says like a shot: “The weather!” It had rained and even snowed. Widmer lost the first two courses. His hands were so cold that he could hardly grab his opponent’s pants. And he said to himself: «Oh my goodness, what am I doing here? I could lie in the sun in California.” But then he pulled himself together – and never lost a step. In the duel for the wreath, he defeated Ueli Stucki from Bern.
Don Widmer’s 1972 results.
The success was all the more amazing as Widmer was pretty much on his own. He was accompanied only by his father, who grew up as a child in the canton of Lucerne before the farming family emigrated to North America via France. People who knew Don Widmer as a wrestler say he had a lot of stamina. Widmer later became an athletic coach and also acquired fitness on his home farm in Lathrop, Central California. Today, at the age of 74, he is still a farmer and also works for an insurance company. He’s not thinking about retirement for a long time.
Don Widmer with his wreath from 1972.
His son Grant, 29, a steak eater according to the name tag, is a police officer. And with a laugh, he says that’s a good fit, because it means he can also practice swinging at work. There are always situations in which he has to use his body; Grant is around 1.90 meters tall and weighs 110 kilograms.
Opportunities for swing training outside of work have become sparse. The sparring partners in each region can be counted on one hand. Also because there are men who would fight but are constrained by commitments. So did Grant Widmer. He received a college scholarship to play football, and in return was encouraged to avoid activities that could cause injury in his free time. In addition, wrestlers at American festivals have less insurance coverage than those in Switzerland.
Grant Widmer eats up to eight meals a day — ten eggs at 3 a.m
If a training group does get together, the US wrestlers put on rings outside, often not made of fine sawdust but with coarse wood chips, like those you know from stable pens for animals. John Ming, the last American to win a federal crown in 1977, helps with the technical training. And Grant Widmer is trying to make the most of the opportunities, at least off the ring. He says he eats ten eggs at 3 a.m. every morning before training or work. He eats up to eight meals throughout the day. At the reception in Muotathal he doesn’t drink a drop of beer.
Grant Widmer (right) at a wrestling festival in North America as he throws an opponent to the ground.
And yet he knows that an exploit like his father’s in 1972 is rather unrealistic: “It’s difficult for us US wrestlers to make progress while the Swiss are getting bigger, stronger and faster.” He hopes to reach the second day of competition when he participates in the federal competition for the first time. In order to avoid being eliminated on Saturday evening, he must not be too far down the rankings after four courses.
This early out happened three years ago in Zug to his cousin Steven Widmer, who is now back. At just 1m 68 tall, Steven is said to be strong in ground fighting, an insider reports, because he comes from Olympic wrestling and excels there against opponents of equal physical stature. On the other hand, he is whirled through the air by the Swiss wrestling giants before he even gets into his preferred position.
The US wrestlers for Pratteln (left to right): Steven Widmer, Grant Widmer (both from Manteca, California), Andrew Betschart (Ripon, California) and Connor Treat (Ellensburg, Washington).
A great supporter of the Widmers is Urs Gwerder, a former Swiss wrestler who settled on Lake Tahoe in California thirty years ago. He comes from Muotathal, his brothers still live here, he organized the reception in the Alpenrösli wrestling club. Three years ago, his son also swung to the Federal: Dustin Gwerder received a lot of defeats, but nevertheless returned happily to the USA – the girlfriend had accepted his marriage proposal in Switzerland. Now it doesn’t swing anymore. He would not have a training colleague within a three-hour drive.
Meanwhile, father Urs, as Vice President of the Sierra Swiss Club, is committed to ensuring that Swiss traditions are maintained by immigrants in the USA – even if he senses that things are getting more complicated: “Fewer and fewer people are emigrating. And more and more of the German language is being lost here. When twenty fighters start at a US wrestling festival, that’s a lot. The pandemic has exacerbated this dynamic.” In the past, wrestling kings even regularly took part in competitions in America. But that has decreased – also because many wrestling festivals in Switzerland and the USA are held at the same time.
Moist eyes after the «Jützli»
It is obvious that Urs Gwerder has both an American and a Swiss heart. He even masters the Muotathal dialect. On stage, he says he would be happy if the music band would perform “still gleitig e Jützli”. When she complies with his wish, Gwerder has tears in her eyes.
The US wrestlers are also touched. As a token of their gratitude for having four starting places at the federal station, they presented whiskey to the Swiss officials. And an American who used to be a professional rodeo rider brings a cowboy lasso as a gift. At the weekend in the sawdust, however, they no longer want to show themselves generously. The dream of once again tearing something from a Swiss national has not died out. The legend Don Widmer says that the people in his family grow a head from generation to generation: “Maybe one day we too will have a giant.”
