Switzerland first to announce roster for 2001 World Championships; Three 2000 Olympians headline Swi

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
07/13/2001


Switzerland is the first nation in the world to officially announce its team roster for the 2001 World Championships of Wrestling, which will be held in Madison Square Garden in New York City, Sept. 26-29.    USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling in the United States, received Switzerland's  nominative registration form on July 10.    The Switzerland delegation will include five men's freestyle wrestlers and four men's Greco-Roman wrestlers.    The place winners from the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia will headline the Swiss team. Leading the team will be Greco-Roman star Beat Motzer, who place fourth in the 2000 Olympic Games at 63 kg/138.75 lbs.    Another Greco-Roman place finisher in Sydney was Urs Burgler, who finished seventh in the Olympics at 97 kg/213.75 lbs. The third Olympic athlete on the Switzerland team is freestyler Rolf Scherrer, who placed 10th at the Sydney Games at 97 kg/213.75 lbs.    Switzerland placed 17th in the 2001 European Freestyle Championships in freestyle, with four participants. Scherrer and Robert Bucheli (85 kg/187.25 lbs.) placed ninth in their weight classes in the 2001 European Championships. Switzerland did not enter the 2001 European Championships in Greco-Roman.    More than 600 athletes from 50 countries are expected to compete in the event.  All three wrestling disciplines (Greco-Roman, men's freestyle and women's freestyle) will be held together, and it is expected to be the largest World Championships of Wrestling event ever held.    Tickets for the World Championships are on sale now, with single session ticket prices starting as low as $10.  All-session passes are priced as low as $99 for the eight total sessions, with family packages starting as low at $308.  Individual session tickets can be purchased through TicketMaster by calling 1-212-307-7171. All-session passes, group ticket packages, VIP Gold Passes and family passes can be purchased by calling 1-866-NYC-2001.    2001 SWITZERLAND WORLD WRESTLING TEAM  to compete at World Championships of Wrestling, New York City, Sept. 26-29  tentative lineup as of 7/13/01  Freestyle  63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Gregory Sarrasin  76 kg/167.5 lbs. - Robert Eggertswyler  85 kg/187.25 lbs. - Thomas Bucheli  97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Rolf Scherrer  130 kg/286 lbs. - Mirko Silian  Greco-Roman  58 kg/127.75 lbs. - Alois Fassler  63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Beat Motzer  69 kg/152 lbs. - Daniel Schnyder  97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Urs Burgler  Team Leader/Chef D'Equipe - Gerhard Seebacher  Coaches/entrainers - Ludwig Kung, Georges Karamanliev  Referees/arbitres -Etienne Martinetti, Viktor Meier, Marianne Nors, Etienne Dessimog