Closing the Year on a High Note: Swiss Open 2024

The 2024 Swiss Open took place on December 20–21 at the Campus Sursee in Sursee. This was a fantastic competition featuring a high level of international swimmers. For me, it was the perfect opportunity to wrap up the first cycle of the season and the calendar year on a strong note.

Challenges: A Valuable Learning Experience

The first day featured the 100m butterfly and 200m freestyle events. Unfortunately, neither race went as planned. This was partly due to strategic training adjustments but also because swimming performance often depends heavily on how you feel on the day. Not every race can go perfectly, and learning to handle such days is an important part of the journey.

Explosive Performances and Personal Bests: Highlighting the 50m Freestyle

Day two was a turning point. My two main and favorite events, the 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle, were on the schedule. In the 50m butterfly heats, I mistimed the finish, which cost me a better time, but I still secured a spot in the final. However, the 50m freestyle was the standout moment of the weekend: I managed to improve my personal best by half a second in the morning heats—a huge improvement for a 50m race.

The finals in the afternoon brought even more excitement. In the 50m butterfly final, my race execution was much better than in the morning, and I secured third place overall (and first among Swiss swimmers) with a solid time. The highlight of the weekend was the 50m freestyle final. Once again, I finished third overall and was the fastest Swiss swimmer. With a bittersweet time of 23.00 seconds, I narrowly missed breaking the 23-second barrier, but I improved my personal best from the morning by another tenth of a second. Overall, I shaved six-tenths off my previous best time—a significant achievement.

These performances put me very close to the qualifying standards for the U23 European Championships and the Swiss National Team.

Now it’s time to take a break during the holiday season to recharge. Afterward, I’ll dive back into training, ready to tackle the second cycle of the season with renewed focus and determination.