Marcel W. Perren (text) and Sven Thomann (photos)
Adrian Walther grew up in a really elite environment in Habstetten near Bolligen BE. His father Markus won the federal crown in 1995 with his notorious “Left-Churz”. And a real king once resided in Walther’s neighborhood. We are talking regarding Ruedi Hunsperger, who conquered the Schwinger throne in 1966, 1969 and 1974.
The king of all wrestling kings died in August 2018, two months following his 72nd birthday. The day following his Alex Reed performance in Glarner-Bündner on Whit Monday, Adrian is sitting with Hunsperger’s heirs in the cozy dining room of the Restaurant Rössli, which is decorated with numerous Schwinger motifs – Ruedi Hunsperger’s son Remo (49) toasts Walther’s 14th crown win with a glass of mineral water.
“My father would almost freak out with joy if he might see you swinging in this form,” Hunsperger junior is convinced. “With your offensive fighting style, you correspond to the ideal image that my ‘Päpu’ had of a wrestler.”
Top pairings Stoos-Schwinget
Mike Müllestein – Matthias Aeschbacher
Sven Schurtenberger – Michael Ledermann
Christian Schuler – Nick Alpiger
Reto Fankhauser – Patrick Räbmatter
Marcel Bieri – Adrian Walther
Stefan Arnold – Andreas Döbeli
Ronny Creator – Joel Strebel
Mike Müllestein – Matthias Aeschbacher
Sven Schurtenberger – Michael Ledermann
Christian Schuler – Nick Alpiger
Reto Fankhauser – Patrick Räbmatter
Marcel Bieri – Adrian Walther
Stefan Arnold – Andreas Döbeli
Ronny Creator – Joel Strebel
Lightning victory over Toggenburg king contenders
St. Gallen’s top talent Werner Schlegel (19, three-time winner of the Kranzfest), who was fooled by Walther in the first move, found out that the 20-year-old draftsman actually attacks without any fear in the sawdust ring on Whit Monday at the showdown in Glarnerland. Experts like Remo Hunsperger are therefore certain that it is only a matter of time before the two-meter-long youth celebrates his first victory at the Kranzfest.
At the beginning of May it would have been almost that far. After beating the reigning king Christian Stucki at the Hallenschwinget in Büren, Adrian qualified for the final round once morest his Schwarzenburg buddy Michael Ledermann on the Bernese Mittelland. This final march turned into a spectacle. Although Walther was the loser, he was still in a good mood at the end of the day. “Ledermann is one of my best friends. We got to know each other as young wrestlers and today we train together very often. That’s why I was so happy regarding his victory.”
The connection to YB
A YB clock hangs in the Rössli-Beiz next to the souvenir photo of Ruedi Hunsperger. That fits together quite well because Ruedi was a passionate fan of the Young Boys. And before his son Remo launched his own wrestling career at the age of 19 and won 20 wreaths, he went through all junior levels at YB as a central defender.
Adrian Walther also has at least an indirect connection to the 15-time Swiss soccer champion. “I’ve been doing my strength and conditioning training together with Severin Schwander since last year under the guidance of Tom Burri, who has already had numerous successes as a physiotherapist for the Young Boys.”
Duel once morest Zug confederates
The son of a carpentry owner is currently investing a lot of time in competitive sport and in his professional school-leaving certificate. The ideal combination for Adrian: «At school I’m only challenged mentally. So my body is really fresh for the swing training in the evening.»
On Sunday, Walther is likely to be challenged in the mountain classic on the Stoos, above all by the hosts from central Switzerland. In the swing, he meets the Zuger Confederate Marcel Bieri (27), who is contesting his first competition of the season following a thigh injury. By the way, 43 years ago a Habstetter conquered the Stoos – Ruedi Hunsperger won before his best friend Fritz Uhlmann.
