Dario Wüthrich, to mourn the selection in the Swiss team

It was within the national team that Dario Wüthrich found a smile.image: keystone

Shortly before Christmas, Dario Wüthrich lost his partner, snowboarder Sophie Hediger, in an avalanche. Four months later, the defender of the HC Ambri-Piotta participated in the campaign for the preparation of the Swiss team. A small miracle for him, even if Patrick Fischer finally failed him. He returns to all these events.

Marcel Kuchta

This is a news that upset the world of sport shortly before Christmas. On December 23, snowboarder Sophie Hediger lost her life in an avalanche in Arosa (GR). The shock and sadness were immense, especially for the family of the champion and her companion: the hockey of Ambri Dario Wüthrich.

Despite this terrible loss, Wüthrich continued to play. He was supported by the large hockey family in Ambri as in all of Switzerland. During the first home game after the drama, moving images were captured at the Gottardo Arena and a minute of silence was observed in memory of Sophie Hediger. At the end of the match, Wüthrich was appointed best player. The Argovian could not hold back his tears.

Dario Wüthrich’s tears (right).

Victim of one of last cuts

More than four months have passed since the unthinkable tragedy that occurred in the Grisons mountains. The injuries caused by this loss are, of course, far from being closed and will probably never heal completely. And yet Dario Wüthrich has now found a smile at times. A week before the kick -off of the World Ice Hockey championship in Denmark (from May 9 to 22), he was still part of the staff of the Swiss national team. It was not until Friday, before the last two preparation games in Czech Republic, that he was dismissed during one of the last cups of the workforce.

The fact that Dario Wüthrich was retained from the selection candidates until the very end of the process surprised everyone, understood. Just Patrick Fischer’s call, after the elimination of HC Ambri-Piotta, was completely unexpected for the player. Wüthrich had no program for spring yet. His joy was therefore immense to see his season extending with the nati.

The ascent of the 25 -year -old athlete is one of the most amazing stories of the year in the world of hockey. Whoever, not so long ago, struggled to go beyond the status of fifth or sixth defender in Ambri, is now a player who found his way and defines his role, a player who no longer has to fight to keep his place in National League.

Reinvent as a defender

What happened? “This season, I found my style as a defender. I also agreed to play in this way, ”explains Wüthrich to describe this process. From a player in constant quest for the profile he thought he had to embody, he became someone who knows exactly what he wants and especially what he is capable of achieving. “I often played too complicated. I managed to detach myself from it and simplify my game, ”he says.

Dario Wüthrich won the Swiss team jersey in preparation.image: Keystone

The player from Würenlos becomes moved when he returns to the path in recent months, since the tragic death of his partner.

Even if he was not held back to compete in the world championship, Dario Wüthrich found his mantra. He underlines it with conviction: “Whatever happens, life continues. It is a state of mind that I have since the death of Sophie. Before, I was rather the tense type, to worry about unimportant things. Such an upheaval shows you how beautiful life is. And how much you have to take advantage of it. ”

When we take a step back, the story of Wüthrich seems almost unreal. A nightmare course to this World Cup dream. “It’s hard to believe, everything has happened in recent weeks. Is it linked to Sophie’s death? I don’t know. But I find it hard to believe that all this is a simple coincidence, having stayed so long with the national team. Right now, my life is completely crazy, ”he confides visibly moved.

One thing is certain: in this long healing process, these days and weeks in the Swiss team have an immense value, not only for Dario Wüthrich, but also for those around him, also deeply marked by Sophie’s brutal loss. “Sophie’s family is incredibly happy (Red: from this course). We remain in very, very narrow contact ”. And even if the trip to the World Cup in Denmark, which should have represented the peak of this trying and emotional period, will not materialize, Dario Wüthrich says he is deeply grateful: “Things come as they must come”.