Switzerland 2026: Water Three Ways (Ice, Snow & Rain)
Three races, three very different conditions and three improving results! From snowy mornings to warm sunny days in the space of two weeks, it was a trip to remember!
The Holding Zone
Starting at home in Melbourne, my first leg to Switzerland was via Bangkok, instead of through our traditional stop in Dubai. While stuck in the Bangkok airport for five hours alone, waiting for the rest of the Australian contingent to arrive, I had a quite strange layover…
An airline attendant escorted me through the terminal to a nondescript sliding door that led to a space approximately 10 square meters in size with another blank door on the far wall. It felt a little bit like a horror set… too blank… too empty… They led me through the next door into a small room with six lounge chairs, no other furniture, only windows overlooking the terminal concourse below. Over four hours I saw maybe a half dozen other wheelchair users come and go and at some point realized that this was essentially a holding zone for people with disabilities. This was fine, although boring, until I eventually tried to leave and go find my teammates after they landed. The escort, who was guarding the door, would just say “no no no no” at me. Like I was a dog trying to dart out after the postman. I tried to explain my intentions, but I don’t think he understood me. I tried this twice to no avail. I know the guy was just trying to do his job, but what a bizarre moment to feel corralled this way… eventually, when they deemed it was my time, they escorted me out. I suppose they didn’t trust that I wouldn’t get lost before finding my next gate.
Arbon: A Chilly and Speedy Goodbye to a Mythical Track
A total of 27 travel hours later (too many), we landed in Zurich, met with a very ominous, cold, and windy embrace. We packed and boarded the bus and headed towards St. Gallen, where we stayed during our Arbon races. On our first morning, we were shocked to wake up to beautiful snowfall! The charm and novelty of the snow wore off pretty quickly when we realised we had to train in these conditions! Cue the montage of putting on as many layers of clothing as we could!
Snow fall for breakfast is an ominous thing to experience before heading to training!
The Swiss racing series this year felt uniquely bittersweet. Due to international surface standards, it was the final year the world famous Arbon track will be able to hold world qualifying events; it’s too worn out for recertification and too costly to resurface. This track has been the pinnacle for wheelchair racing for as long as I can remember. It has aged perfectly into an incredibly smooth and hard surface, which is the optimal combination for setting fast wheelchair track times. The now mythical Arbon track has seen thousands (not exaggerating) personal bests and countless World Records over the years (obviously the IPC does count them).
As I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post, my first Swiss trip was waaaaay back in 2010. That is a competition I remember vividly, because I raced against hometown hero Beat Bösch when he broke the 100m T52 World Record. I remember being in absolute awe of someone pushing that fast (16.98), and it was the real spark that made me want to pursue elite wheelchair racing. It’s pretty incredible to know that I’ve been able to surpass that historic time myself!
Even with the cold conditions, it literally hailed on us during warm-up and during some of the races, in my second Arbon race, I managed to break my own T52 100m Oceania Record that I had previously set at the 2025 World Championships in New Delhi by 0.01 seconds! Not a lot, but I’ll take it!
The first race was bitterly cold, serving us with an icy headwind that hampered top-end speed and produced a slower time of 17.72 (-3.7). I’ve got to say, a 3.7 m/s icy wind in your face doesn’t do your speed (or face) any favors.
Thankfully, the second race was in less icy conditions and served up a better result of 17.20 (+0.2) and the aforemetioned new Oceania Record!
I feel honoured to have had the privilege of competing In Arbon one last time. It was fitting to see two last Word Records being broken: the Women's T54 400m by the legendary Tatyana McFadden (USA) and the Men’s T54 10,000m by the incomparable “Swiss Silver Bullet” himself, Marcel Hug.
Nottwil: Rest, Rain, and Racing
We moved on next to Nottwil and stayed at the hotel attached to the spinal cord rehabilitation centre. The centre takes in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients from all over Europe and is a super impressive place. Not only do these patients get amazing medical care, but have para sport built directly into their rehabilitation! For many fellow SCIs, we stumble onto para sport way after our initial injury, I’m pretty jealous they are exposed to elite para sports so early in their rehabilitation!
Here we had a few days of break before the last competition. Rheed and I took this opportunity for a quick train ride into Lucerne for a coffee and photo opp before switching focus to rest and training before racing. Say cheese!! Even when we do get an off day between competitions, we are always care not to overdo it or wear ourselves out. Got to stay race ready!
The Racing in Nottwil provided much warmer conditions, it even cracked 24 degrees (Celsius)! Pretty wild how much of a difference a week can make, from snowing to needing sunscreen!! The warmer weather led to faster times, where I again broke my Oceana Record in the 100m, with a time of 17.15 seconds (+0.6).
Ready, Set Go! The 100m race in Nottwil.
Again other world records were set and it’s amazing being able to witness them in person. The Men’s T54 100m being broken by Thai athlete, Paeng-Nuea Athiwat, in 13.54 seconds was a particular favourite to watch! See the selfie attached with him!
T54 100m World Record holder, Paeng-Nuea Athiwat.
The Holding ZonE Part Two
It was a tight turnaround from competing to heading home, packing up straight after the last race and needing to be ready to leave the next morning.
The trip home was eventful, to say the least. Arriving in Bangkok, the airline refused to bring the team our seven day chairs, sparking a 50 minute stalemate where we refused to disembark until they finally caved and brought them up to us. While I separated from the rest of the group for my flight back to Melbourne (and thankfully had only minor delays upon landing) the Sydney group faced more issues upon landing. I have been travelling with the wheelchair racing squad for 15+ years now and in these disappointing moments continue to hope air travel becomes more compassionate to those with disabilities.
BRING ON THE WINTER BUILD!
Overall, I’m happy to head home with some great results and oodles of motivation to keep the progress going over winter! Although, I now have a new respect for what cold truly is!
Until next time, thank you Switzerland!