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Margrith Scherrer
Interview with European champion Lukas Britschgi
Lukas Britschgi, Art on Ice 2025
It’s a moment that most athletes dream of. The competition: a championship. The performance: absolutely the best. The race to catch up: perfect. The result: gold! For Lukas Britschgi, however, his sensational European Championship title last February – the first Swiss figure skater since Hans Gerschwiler in 1947 – was not the fulfilment of a dream. “Because I never even dared to dream of becoming European champion!” After European Championship hype and the first performances in front of a home crowd at Art on Ice, came the shock of Lukas injuring himself in training – something he battled through, but which meant he had to abandon the tour one day before the end. Rehabilitation and reconstruction – and then it was almost time for the World Championships in Boston, where the 27-year-old achieved the minimum target: a quota place for the Olympics. A few months have passed since then.
"You could say it's a typical Lukas Britschgi showman programme"
We spoke to the European champion and wanted to know how often he still thinks about his magical golden moment, how he spent his holidays and how much he is already thinking about the highlight of the season, the Olympics.
Lukas, how often do you think back to the European Championships and what feelings do they evoke?
I thought about it a couple of times after the European Championships, especially in the run-up to the World Championships. I had a relatively short preparation time because of my injury, so thinking about the European Championships was good motivation. After the World Championships I wanted to consciously switch off during my holidays and not think about ice skating all the time. But since I’ve been back on the ice, the memories are more to the front of my mind.
How did you manage to switch off after this special season?
I had to take an eight-week break because of my chronic knee pain, an enforced break so to speak. That’s why it was almost easier for me than usual. It did me a great deal of good, and not just for my knee, but also to process this intensive season and switch off completely for once. It wasn’t just the European Championship title – it was a season like a rollercoaster ride, with alternating highs and lows. I was mentally very tired.
Can you tell us about your break?
It wasn’t very relaxing (laughs). But I don’t like just lying around anyway. I completed my final bachelor’s degree exams and invested a lot in the therapy and rehabilitation for my knee, spending a lot of time in the gym and doing strengthening exercises. Then I was in Colombia, South America. I travelled around with a good friend and my rucksack. We were very active and hardly ever spent two days in the same place. I really enjoyed the scenery in Colombia. The food, however, not so much – everything was a bit bland. Our hostel life was simple, but good. We got to know a lot of new people as a result.
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How did people react when they realised they were looking at a European champion?
When I talk about ice skating, people often ask a lot of questions and show great interest, as they are not very familiar with this sport. But I actually prefer to talk about other things than myself.I don’t mention my profession as a figure skater right away, or simply introduce myself as a student. The problem is that I have a tattoo of the Olympic rings on my forearm. That gives me away (laughs).
That’s a good cue –just over half a year to go until the Olympics! How much are you already thinking about the highlight of the season?
During the holidays, for example, I was more careful than usual. I’m an adrenaline junkie, but with the Olympics in mind I decided not to go bungee jumping, for example. And we rented a car and didn’t drive around on motorbikes. When looking for music for the new programmes and the choreographies, of course the fact that I will be performing in front of an even bigger audience than usual at the Olympics plays a part. I’m also currently working on my bachelor’s thesis. I would like to finish this before the start of the season. But apart from these topics, I try not to think too much about the Olympics just yet. I don’t want to drive myself crazy. We have so many other competitions beforehand. One step at a time.
Can you tell us anything about your new programmes?
I don’t want to give too much away yet. But I can give you a few hints. I worked again with the choreographers I trust – Andrea Vaturi, an Italian, choreographed the short programme and the Belgian Adam Solya the free programme. In contrast to last year, the short programme will be somewhat “lighter, less profound” in terms of subject matter. You could say it’s a typical Lukas Britschgi showman programme (laughs). I hope it will bring the house down. The free programme is something completely new. The concept is not absolutely new to skating, but to my knowledge no one has ever skated to exactly these pieces of music before. It is important to me to always do something new and not what has already been done 100 times before. Thematically, we are heading east. I already feel very comfortable with the programmes, but I still have a lot of work to do.
With heart and gold: Lukas Britschgi
Meet Lukas Britschgi: Swiss figure skater, European champion and entertainer. On his new website, he tells us how his passion led him to win a gold medal at the 2025 European Championships.
Sarah van Berkel, formerly Meier, became European figure skating champion in 2011, is now a journalist and is responsible for athlete management and the “young talents” project at Art on Ice. The 40-year-old is a “Gfrörli”, she loves coffee and is addicted to nuts.