Alex Schwazer had to give up. © All photos: det

With a flaw: Alex Schwazer’s big farewell

One last race on the big stage – that was the goal of Alex Schwazer, who appeared in Arco on Friday. The 20-kilometer race saw highly emotional scenes involving the 39-year-old walker from Kalch.

July 19, 2024

From Arco

The crowd was huge. Around 1000 spectators made the pilgrimage to the Stadio Comunale in Arco on Friday evening. They all wanted to see Alex Schwazer's last appearance on the big sporting stage. At the beginning of July, his eight-year and highly controversial doping ban expired. The walker had fought for years for his innocence, which was even confirmed by a court in Bolzano. But for the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Association of Athletics Federations, Schwazer's guilt and thus the ban remained.

It suits the nature of the snappy Kalcher that he returned to the big sporting stage one last time after the ban expired. The media presence in Arco impressively demonstrated how huge the interest in the 39-year-old still is. Representatives of the largest television stations and newspapers were on site to cover the competition.

And this race was really emotional. Every time Schwazer passed the straight in front of the stands in the Arco stadium, the fans chanted loudly to encourage him to go forward. But after just a few kilometers it became clear that the 39-year-old was struggling with physical problems. He kept grabbing his back, sometimes stopping, and doubled over in pain. Schwazer dragged himself along the athletics track for 14 kilometers with his notorious bite until he finally couldn't go on anymore.

Schwazer had to give up. It became clear immediately afterwards how much the 2008 Olympic champion had suffered, when he could hardly stand on his feet because of the pain. "My sciatic nerve is inflamed. I haven't trained for three weeks, but I wanted to compete at all costs," said the man from Kalch, who was then hugged by his wife Kathrin and his two small children Ida (7) and Noah (4). It's understandable that a tear or two was shed. An emotional farewell to the big sporting stage.