A Zurich lawyer's anger gave rise to the Kilchberg Schwinget, and the arguments have lasted for a century

Samuel Giger has won the Kilchberg Schwinget for the second time, joining Karl Meli as the only wrestlers to achieve that feat. The victory gave the wrestler from Thurgau revenge for the last Swiss national festival. More than a century earlier, the desire for revenge had helped inspire Kilchberg's most exclusive wrestling event.

The arguments surrounding Swiss traditional wrestling have changed little over the decades. They concern the draw and the decisions of the judging panel. At the 1926 Swiss national festival in Lucerne, Henri Wernli was declared wrestling king after prolonged debate. The final bout had ended in a draw, and Wernli, who had won Olympic silver in wrestling in Paris two years earlier, did not fight. The NZZ described the troubled finale by writing, "After a long back and forth, the contest had to be abandoned."

A spectator from Kilchberg on Lake Zurich was so angered by what he saw as an unfair draw, a disputed title and arguments at the festival that he decided to organize his own event. Emil Huber had the means to do so. He held a doctorate in law, worked as a publisher and owned an estate above Kilchberg.

In 1927, one year after the turmoil in Lucerne, Huber invited the country's 50 best wrestlers to the park of the sanatorium he managed. He presented the competition as a rematch for the national festival. Unlike that event, he distributed no wreaths according to the draw. The winner received a bull from Huber's own stock. Huber also created a prize for the most beautiful wrestler, awarded to the competitor who fought most spectacularly. The winner still receives a valuable watch today.

Huber wanted a festival without backroom deals or arguments, with as close to one clear winner as possible. The Swiss Wrestling Association initially treated his independent venture with hostility, viewing him as an outsider from the city. Despite that resistance, the Kilchberg Schwinget grew popular. By 1932, the organizers had moved it to Stockengut because of a lack of space, and the event remains there. The national association eventually included it in its calendar.

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After a long back and forth, the contest had to be abandoned.