Two gold medals and one bronze at the Swiss Short Track Championships
A spectacular and medal-filled start to the Swiss Championships in Leysin (VD). Alessandra Keller and Lars Forster secured gold medals and, with them, the Swiss championship titles in Short Track. Vital Albin rounded out the elite division’s outstanding performance with a bronze medal.
In the elite women’s race, reigning short track world champion Alessandra Keller demonstrated her class by pulling away decisively on the final climb and claiming her second Swiss Championship title in XCC—following her 2023 victory—ahead of Nicole Koller and Rebekka Estermann. From a technical standpoint as well, Keller’s victory was of great significance: She won for the first time on Thömus’s 32-inch bike.
“It feels great to be Swiss champion. We’re a Swiss team, so the national championships are always important to us,” Keller said happily after the race. She added that the victory was also her first while wearing the World Championship jersey, which made her especially proud. “I’m happy with how I rode today—with a lot of power. It’s never easy to race when everyone’s watching you.”
Decisive attack by Lars Forster – Vital Albin on the podium
The men’s race also wasn’t decided until the final lap. On the final steep climb, Lars Forster launched a decisive attack, took the lead, and held on all the way to the finish, making an impressive return to the top after a difficult periode. “Everything went according to plan. My plan was to be at the front after the steep climb. I came from behind with a lot of speed, was the first to reach the top, and was able to push through to the finish. I’m just so happy,” explained the newly crowned Swiss champion Forster. Dario Lillo took silver in a sprint duel against Vital Albin, who rounded out the podium with a strong third-place finish.
Devo team also takes home two gold medals
The day’s results were capped off by the achievements of the Thömus Akros Youngstars team. In the U23 categories, both Swiss championship titles went to the devo team: In the U23 men’s race, Nicolas Halter celebrated a commanding victory ahead of his teammate Loris Hättenschwiler. In the U23 women’s category, Monique Halter triumphed, while Lara Liehner rounded out the outstanding overall result with a 5th place.
With this strong, unified performance, the entire team is looking forward with confidence to Sunday’s upcoming Swiss Cross-Country (XCO) Championships.