Two winners at the last wreath festival before the Federal

(sda) A draw between Giger and Werner Schlegel secured a joint victory at the sixth and final Bergkranzfest of the season. For Marcel Räbsamen of St. Gallen, at the age of 24, it was his first Kranfest victory ever; for Giger, who is three years older, it was his 27th overall and his fifth this year.

Two weeks before the Swiss Federal Championships in Mollis, Giger proved at the foot of Säntis that he was ready for the season's highlight. On his way to his final bout, the favorite defeated four Swiss competitors at the 25th Schwägalp-Schwinget.

In the final bout of the day, he faced another strong Eastern Swiss competitor, Werner Schlegel, who had also won all five rounds up to that point. Because Räbsamen received the maximum score for his victory in the sixth round against the disappointing southwestern Swiss guest Lario Kramer (who missed the wreath in 10th place), Giger, and especially Schlegel, were under pressure.

Schlegel, who was 0.25 points behind Giger, needed a win to secure the festival victory. Despite his intense efforts, the 22-year-old from Hemberg was unable to inflict a first defeat on Giger in his wrestling career and inflict the Thurgauer's first defeat on the Schwägalp since 2016 in the 14-minute period. After an attractive final bout, both were rewarded with a score of 9, which helped Giger secure the festival victory and Räbsamen secure his debut.

Last year, there were already two winners at Schwägalp. Back then, Giger and Fabian Staudenmann celebrated together after a draw in the final round. Staudenmann, like the entire strong Bernese group, was absent this year. Given the dominance of the Eastern Swiss, the guests from central and southwestern Switzerland had nothing to do with the outcome of the festival.