Swiss Retirements: FSG Contracts with Groves, Gisi, Boschenstein, Senn and Zimmermann will not be renewed for 2012
The Swiss Gymnastics Federation (FSG) made some major changes in the gymnastics team, this year. Some serious cutting and pruning led to the mutually accepted departure of five gymnasts from the team.
The first one in the retiree lot is Daniel Groves. Following the World Championships in October this year, Groves was forced to withdraw from competition, owing to his knee injury.
The gymnast had been with the national team since 2005. He made the retirement official in an announcement in November, this year.
Groves is now all set to enter the sport of gymnastics in the capacity of a trainer. The FSG has offered him the opportunity of beginning his career as a coach from January 3, 2012.
The other four retirements were not as voluntary as Groves’.
Now Niki Boschenstein, Roman Gisi, Jennifer Senn and Yasmin Zimmermann have all made it to the list of gymnasts who will not be renewing their contracts with the FSG for the coming year.
Boschenstein, at 26, has been with the Swiss national team since 2002. Prior to that, the gymnast was a junior squad member since 1998.
In competition, Boschenstein’s favourite apparatus was the bars. In 2003 he earned the Swiss champion title in the all-around.
He was also awarded the Aargauer Athlete of the Year in 2005. In the following year, he was placed third in the Swiss Cup.
Roman Gisi is putting an end to his career in elite gymnastics at the age of 26. He represented Switzerland in the World Championships of 2007, 2009 and 2010, but failed to do so this year, owing to a metatarsal injury.
Notable is his ranking in last year’s World Championships in London, where he was placed 13th in the all-around.
The same year saw him contribute to the Swiss national team’s fifth position in the European Championships (Birmingham).
Gisi walks away with a personal recognition of his “enriching” experiences picked up along his gymnastics career.
Completing his business education alongside his career has been crucial to him, as he now acknowledges the opportunity of working in the Human Resource department at the Federal Office of Sport.
This will help him in being involved with sports in a different capacity than active competition.
19-year-old Zimmermann earned her Swiss Junior Champion title in 2007, a year before she joined the Swiss national team.
Her chronic foot injuries have marred her great potential as a gymnast and keep interfering with her competition.
Now, walking away from elite gymnastics, Zimmermann is gracefully thankful to her supporters, parents and coach.
The youngest retiree this year, Jennifer Senn, represented Switzerland at World Championships in 2009 and 2010. She also contributed to the Swiss national team’s sixth place finish in the 2012 European Championships.
Senn plans on redirecting her attention towards her academic life.
Switzerland was unable to attain any Olympic berth, and is scheduled to send two female and two male gymnasts to the London test event in January.
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