International Gymnast - January/February 2010

READY to Rock the Hall is more than a catch phrase for Swiss gymnast Nicolas (Niki) Böschenstein. It’s a way of doing ymnastics, and living, that grounds him as he handles rock-star status in Switzerland with his pursuit of gymnastics stardom.

“If you are very close to your fans or the pub-
lic, that’s very good because you always get feed-
back,” says Böschenstein, who placed 16th all-
around at the world championships in London in
October. “If you always smile, tell the truth and
share your thoughts, it comes back to you. And
that gives me energy.”
In London, Böschenstein got a particularly
special rush during qualifications, when Queen’s
“We Will Rock You” blasted from the O2
Arena’s sound system. Böschenstein
said the anthem, so similar to his motto,
helped him persevere after a two-fall
routine on pommels. “The announcer
did his job very well by playing that
song,” Böschenstein jokes. “It’s very
good for me to get the feeling for the
competition, so the motivation is higher.
I know to think, OK, go again, go
again, go again till the last apparatus.”
Indeed, Böschenstein steadied himself in
the all-around final, where he improved
his qualifications rank by six spots.

THOMAS SCHREYER (2); DAVE BLACK (INSET)

Böschenstein’s resilient performance at the London worlds was not the first time he found enlightenment in the midst of adversity. At the 2002 European junior championships in Patras, Greece, he helped Switzerland earn a best-ever second-place finish in the team competition, and qualified fourth for the all-around final. He then broke one foot and severely sprained the other on a simple tumbling pass on floor exercise, his first event in the all-around final. Just a year later, at age 1 8, Böschenstein became the youngest man to win the Swiss all-around title; he has since won four more Swiss titles.

“Now I know the injury in Patras was not really bad for me,” says Böschenstein, who placed ninth all-around at this spring’s Europeans in

Swiss Star

Switzerland’s Niki Böschenstein rocks toward London 2012

Milan. “I knew the pain every day, and I saw the
other gymnasts who were training very well. I
cried a little and felt bad in my heart, and then I
thought of my new exercises and got focused.
My goal was to win the (2003) Swiss champi-
onships, and I did it. My motivation was very
good. You can do it if you love it the most. Your
energy is all on the inside, and then you get the
green light, and you have more power than
before.”
To demonstrate the ups and downs that
injury-induced downtime can cause, the other-
wise articulate Böschenstein resorts to hand ges-
tures. “When you never have an injury, you
always go like that, or just a little bit higher,” he
explains, skimming his hand horizontally in the
air. “But when you have an injury, you go like
that,” he adds, dropping his hand dramatically.
“And,” he quickly adds, clawing his hand
upward, “you fight, fight, fight to reach the next
level. So, sometimes an injury isn’t bad.”
Böschenstein does his most inspired gymnas-
tics when an audience is watching—a scenario
that sometimes exasperates his coaches.
Böschenstein, who was born in Zurich, has been
training in Magglingen with the rest of the
national team since 2002. Bernhard Fluck is the
team’s head coach; in Magglingen, Böschenstein
trains under coaches Rolf Niederhäuser, Frederic
Forrler and Rolf Thalmann, who divide the
events.