Fritz STÖCKLI

Fritz Stöckli was a multi-sport athlete who had his greatest success on the international scene as a representative for Switzerland in wrestling and bobsledding. His prowess in the former took him to the 1946 European Championships, where he won a silver medal in the light-heavyweight event of the freestyle tournament, and then to the 1948 Summer Olympics, where he competed in the same discipline. After receiving a bye in round one, he defeated R. Landesmann of France and Karel Istaz of Belgium in the next two rounds and remained the only wrestler without any bad points. He then won by decision against Turkey’s Muharrem Candaş, bested Canada’s Fernand Payette, and received a bye to reach round seven, where he vanquished Sweden’s Bengt Fahlkvist. This took him to the final against Henry Wittenberg of the United States, which he lost in a 2-1 decision, therefore settling for a silver medal. Four years later he returned to the Olympics, this time as a bobsledder, and came in fourth in the four-man event alongside Felix Endrich, Franz Kapus, and Werner Spring. His bobsledding career seemed on the rise at the 1953 World Championships, where he and Endrich won the two-man event, but tragedy struck when an accident during a practice run for the four-man claimed Endrich’s life. Although their teammates Aby Gartmann and the non-Olympian Rene Heiland suffered serious injuries, Stöckli escaped relatively unscathed, but retired from active competition shortly thereafter.