EJU Vice President and Executive Committee member Sergei ASCHWANDEN has proved numerous times that he can meet up to high expectations. As an athlete the 46-year-old Swiss won two World Championships medals (bronze in 2001/Munich, silver in 2003/Osaka) and two European Championships titles (2000, 2003), topping his Judo career by eventually winning a bronze medal at the Beijing Games in 2008, his third Olympic participation.
A couple of weeks later he quit active Judo and started a new professional life. First Sergei completed his masters degree in sports management at the University of Lausanne, then he got involved in politics and tourism.
He never forgot his Judo roots though. „We tried to establish a school project, teaching Judo 45 minutes per week. Within the last fourteen years we have reached about 25.000 kids and teenagers in Switzerland, introduced them to the ABC of Judo.“
Aschwanden – in his role as a politician in the regional parliament of Swiss district Vaud – launched the „Generation Champion“ project for upcoming top athletes. „If you want to change something in your hometown, being a local politician can make the difference. I love to work in tourism, but I also love politics. It’s good to help athletes to get better or to motivate younger generations to a healthier lifestyle. I enjoy this kind of challenges and projects.“
Not enough: Aschwanden also started SJC – Sergei Judo Camp, presented by IJF, with hundreds of kids training during school holidays and eventually ended up working for the Swiss Judo Federation too. He became President in 2020, two years later he got elected as Executive Committee Member of the European Judo Union.
This weekend Sergei Aschwanden attends the Mixed Team European Championships in Mulhouse in order to coordinate the EJU education programme for 2023. He met with his Executive Committee colleagues and discussed with fellow Olympic Bronze Medal winner Nuno Delgado from Portugal about next year’s main projects. „At the Congress in Ljubljana on 10th of December we will present the first details“, the 46-year-old promisses.
You can bet on the fact, that Sergei will deliver once again.
Author: EJU Media