The Federal Council welcomes athletes having participated in the Olympic Winter Games and the Paralympics in Sochi in 2014
Bern, 15.04.2014 - President Didier Burkhalter, Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer and Federal Councillor Alain Berset, who are the respective heads of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) and the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA), met with the athletes who participated in the Olympic Winter Games and the Paralympics in Sochi in 2014 at a reception held today in the Parliament Building to congratulate them for their achievements.
The Swiss athletes won 12 medals and 30 diplomas at this year’s Olympic Winter Games and the Paralympics. Around 70 athletes as well as team leaders and members of Olympia management teams of Swiss Olympic and Swiss Paralympic took part in an event held in Bern today. President Didier Burkhalter and Federal Councillors Ueli Maurer and Alain Berset congratulated them on behalf of the Federal Council for their achievements.
In his speech, the President expressed his admiration for the athletes’ great physical and mental commitment. The Olympic motto “faster, higher, stronger” was reflected in the athletes’ impressive achievements. Switzerland picked up an impressive tally of medals and diplomas at the 2014 Winter Games. Switzerland proudly ranks seventh in the Olympic medal table. It even ranks in second place in terms of medals per capita. The athletes “brought an essential characteristic of our country into focus, namely Switzerland’s different languages and cultures.” Switzerland’s strength and potential for achieving higher ideals hinged on the country’s unity. National cohesion, which is also expressed in the country’s motto “unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno – one for all and all for one” became clear at the Winter Games when all the athletes in Sochi and all of Switzerland cheered the country’s success.
President Didier Burkhalter was particularly pleased that the young Swiss athletes were so successful at the Games and congratulated ice hockey player Alina Müller (15), freestyler Luca Schuler (16) and slopestyler Fabian Bösch (16), who embody the dynamic, grace and strength with which young people move towards the future.
Address for enquiries
FDFA Communication
Federal Palace West Wing
CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland
Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55
E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch
Twitter: @SwissMFA
Publisher
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html
Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports
http://www.vbs.admin.ch
Federal Department of Home Affairs
http://www.edi.admin.ch
