In the lead-up to the European Athletics Team Championships, we are taking a closer look at the contenders. This time, the spotlight falls on Switzerland, who will be competing in the 1st Division in Madrid on 27-29 June.
A small nation that continues to punch above its weight in European track and field, they have yet to establish themselves as a regular top tier nation. But Switzerland has made impressive strides in recent years, collecting a growing number of individual medals on both the European and world stage.
This steady progress reflects the emergence of a promising new generation of Swiss talent.
After avoiding relegation at Silesia 2023, Switzerland heads into Madrid 2025 at the heart of the 1st Division and with it, a golden opportunity to chase their best-ever finish in at the European Athletics Team Championships.
Flashback to 2023
At Silesia 2023, Switzerland competed in top league-surrounded by the heavy hitters of the continent, the team produced a commendable performance finishing 12th avoiding relegation to the second division with a total of 263 points.
Switzerland left the championships with a handful of individual highlights: Jason Joseph set the championship record in the men's 110m hurdles with a blistering 13.12, Ramon Wipfli also sealed a first-place finish in the men's 800m.
Track Record
- Belgrade 2010, Serbia, Second League (1st place)
In Belgrade 2010 the Swiss placed top of eight nations in the second league – the third tier - beating Croatia to first place by 7 points (207 to 200). It was a very balanced competition for the team, only securing five first place finishes across the board, the Swiss built their score through consistent top three finishes that kept the scoreboard ticking throughout.
The Swiss took maximum points in the men's 4x100m with a time of 39.74 - a symbolic team effort for this collected performance that helped Swiss Athletics take another step forward.
- Vaasa 2017, Finland, First League (3rd place)
In Vaasa 2017, Switzerland competed in the second tier of European team athletics and arrived with renewed momentum after a period of transition. Armed with a confident and experienced squad, the goal was clear: promotion. The Swiss ultimately finished third overall with 305.5 points.
The Swiss women delivered standout performances and proved decisive in gaining promotion, securing eight of the 20 possible event victories. Among them was rising sprint star Mujinga Kambundji, who took the win in the 100m.
Her triumph in Vaasa was part of a broader trajectory that would eventually see her crowned twice European 200m champion (Munich 2022, Roma 2024) and twice world indoor 60m champion (Belgrade 2022, Nanjing 2025).
- Bydgoszcz 2019, Poland, Super League (12th place)
Switzerland faced a tough challenge in Bydgoszcz 2019, finishing 12th in the Super League against the continent’s elite teams, despite victory from the ever reliable Mujinga Kambundji in the women’s 200m in 22.72.
The Swiss found themselves relegated — a result that signalled the need for some introspection. Something that has absolutely been shown and as they prepare to compete in the topflight of athletics with a historic finish in mind, they may look back to this performance as a the catalyst of recent success.
Key Athletes
- Timothe Mumenthaler - men's 200m, 4x100 relay
Switzerland’s newest sprint sensation, 22-year-old Timothé Mumenthaler, arrives in Madrid as the reigning European 200m champion after a blistering personal best of 20.28 in the final at Rome 2024.
Having finished fifth in the 200m at Silesia 2023, Mumenthaler has taken a major step forward and now enters as one of the event favourites. With momentum on his side, he’ll be chasing both his highest individual finish at a team championship and a career-best overall result with the Swiss squad.
- Dominic Lobalu- men's 5000m
Born in South Sudan and displaced by civil unrest, Dominic Lobalu first competed for the Athlete Refugee Team in 2019 after winning a 10km race in Geneva, then sought asylum in Switzerland.
That bold move changed his life — and his career. Now a Swiss resident and one of Europe’s top distance runners, he claimed gold in the 10,000m and bronze in the 5000m at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships and will be Switzerland's main man in the distance events.
- Ditaji Kambundji- women’s 100m hurdles
With elder sister Mujinga now expecting her first child and on the sidelines for this season at least, Ditaji Kambundji will carry the family name on her shoulders this year.
She enjoyed a superb indoor campaign, setting a new European record of 7.67 in winning 60m hurdles gold at the Apeldoorn 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships, before winning silver at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing.
Her event could be one of the most thrilling of Madrid 2025 with a potential rematch against fellow Apeldoorn 2025 medallists Nadine Visser (The Netherlands) and Pia Skrzyszowska (Poland).
- Angelica Moser - women's pole vault
Angelica Moser has emerged as Switzerland’s premier pole vaulter, holding the national outdoor record at 4.88m, achieved in Monaco in July 2024. Following a European title in Rome 2024 and a European indoor title in Apeldoorn 2025, the Swiss team will be looking to Moser for a big score in Madrid.
- Audrey Werro – women’s 800m
Long one of the most exciting prospects in European middle distance running, Werro twice won the 800m title at the European Athletics U20 Championships (Tallinn 2021, Jerusalem 2023) and silver at the World U20 Championships in Cali 2022.
She now looks set to make a big impact on the senior stage, having reached the finals at both the European and world indoor championships and opening her outdoor season in record-breaking form.
Tom Hanson for European Athletics