Switzerland at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Switzerland competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. Swiss athletes have competed at every Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, except when they boycotted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne in protest of the Soviet invasion of Hungary. The Swiss Olympic Association sent a total of 103 athletes to the 2012 Games, 72 men and 31 women, to compete in 18 sports.
Switzerland left London with a total of four Olympic medals, their lowest in Summer Olympic history since 1992. This was in stark contrast with the zero medal tally of the neighbouring Austria, a nation of roughly comparable size. Most of these medals were awarded to the athletes in cycling, tennis, equestrian, and triathlon.
Among the nation's medalists were mountain biker Nino Schurter, who won his second Olympic medal after winning the silver in men's cross-country race. Equestrian rider Steve Guerdat won Switzerland's first ever gold medal in the individual show jumping. Meanwhile, Nicola Spirig became the second Swiss athlete to claim an Olympic title in women's triathlon since its official debut as a full-medal sport in 2000. World number-one male tennis player Roger Federer won the coveted silver medal in the men's singles, after he was defeated by Great Britain's Andy Murray. Several Swiss athletes missed out of the medal standings. Defending Olympic champion Fabian Cancellara finished seventh in the men's individual time trial, following the collarbone injury he received in the road race.
Medalists
| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date |
| Equestrian | Jumping | |||
| Triathlon | Women's event | |||
| Tennis | Men's singles | |||
| Cycling | Men's cross-country |
Delegation
The Swiss Olympic Association selected a team of 103 athletes, 72 men and 31 women, to compete in 18 sports, their largest delegation ever surpassing the record set in Sydney by a single athlete. Men's football was the only team-based sport in which Switzerland were represented in these Olympic games. There was only a single competitor in badminton, BMX cycling and Greco-Roman wrestling. Athletics was the largest team in the individual sports, with a total of 15 competitors.The Swiss team featured three defending champions from Beijing: road cyclist Fabian Cancellara, and tennis doubles players Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka. Federer was offered the honour of carrying the Swiss flag for the third time after he won the Wimbledon Championships, and reached the top of the men's world tennis rankings. However, he nominated his compatriot and close friend Wawrinka to perform the duty at the opening ceremony instead. Along with Federer, three other Swiss athletes made their fourth Olympic appearance: marathon runner Viktor Röthlin, Star sailor Flavio Marazzi, and quadruple sculls rower André Vonarburg. Equestrian show jumper Pius Schwizer, at age 49, was the oldest athlete of the team, while all-around gymnast Giulia Steingruber was the youngest at age 18.
Other notable Swiss athletes featured mountain biker and bronze medalist Nino Schurter, freestyle swimmer and six-time national record holder Dominik Meichtry, triathletes Sven Riederer and Nicola Spirig, and equestrian show jumper Steve Guerdat, who led his team by winning the bronze medal in Beijing.
The following is the list of number of competitors participating in the Games. Note that reserves in fencing, field hockey, football, and handball are not counted as athletes:
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
| Archery | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Athletics | 4 | 11 | 15 |
| Badminton | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Canoeing | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Cycling | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| Equestrian | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Fencing | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Football | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| Gymnastics | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Judo | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Rowing | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Sailing | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Shooting | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Swimming | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Tennis | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Triathlon | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Volleyball | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Wrestling | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 72 | 31 | 103 |
Archery
Switzerland qualified two archers in men's and women's individual events.Athletics
14 Swiss athletes qualified for the athletics events.;Key
- Note – Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
- Q = Qualified for the next round
- q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
- NR = National record
- PB = Personal best
- N/A = Round not applicable for the event
- Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round
;Men
;Track & road events
;Women
;Track & road events
;Field events
;Combined events – Heptathlon
| Athlete | Event | 200 m | 800 m | Final | Rank | |||||
| Ellen Sprunger | Result | 13.35 | 1.71 | 12.62 | 23.59 | 5.88 | 45.63 | 2:17.54 | 6107 | 19 |
| Ellen Sprunger | Points | 1072 | 867 | 702 | 1020 | 813 | 776 | 857 | 6107 | 19 |
Badminton
On 11 May 2012, Sabrina Jaquet qualified to compete in the Olympic Badminton Women's singles.Canoeing
Slalom
Switzerland has so far qualified boats for the following events:Cycling
Road
was the defending Olympic champion in the men's time trial event and the 2008 Olympic silver medallist in the road race event. In the road race on 28 July, he fell and bruised his collarbone when he hit the safety bars with 15 kilometres to go. He finished in 106th place. Because of his pain, he changed his positioning on the bike and was able to take part in the time-trial event, but was unable to retain his title and finished in seventh place.| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank |
| Michael Albasini | Men's road race | 5:46:47 | 96 |
| Michael Albasini | Men's time trial | 56:38.38 | 30 |
| Fabian Cancellara | Men's road race | 5:51:40 | 106 |
| Fabian Cancellara | Men's time trial | 52:53.71 | 7 |
| Martin Elmiger | Men's road race | 5:46:37 | 37 |
| Gregory Rast | Men's road race | 5:46:05 | 8 |
| Michael Schär | Men's road race | 5:46:37 | 87 |
Mountain biking
In September 2011, Nino Schurter qualified for the Olympic Mountain Bike event. Ralf Näf and Florian Vogel were qualified on 25 May 2012. Fabian Giger was also named first reserve in case of a withdrawal. On 25 May 2012 Katrin Leumann and Esther Süss qualified for the Olympic Mountain Bike event.| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank |
| Ralf Näf | Men's cross-country | 1:32:58 | 18 |
| Nino Schurter | Men's cross-country | 1:29:08 | |
| Florian Vogel | Men's cross-country | 1:34:36 | 25 |
| Katrin Leumann | Women's cross-country | 1:38:23 | 19 |
| Esther Süss | Women's cross-country | 1:32:46 | 5 |
BMX
Equestrian
Jumping
Switzerland has qualified a team in the jumping event because they were one of the three best non-qualified teams in the team event of the 2011 European Show Jumping Championship.Fencing
On 11 May 2012, Fabian Kauter and Max Heinzer qualified for the men's individual épée and Tiffany Geroudet qualified for the women's individual épée. Both Fabian Kauter and Max Heinzer lost in the round of 16 to Yannick Borel and Ruben Limardo, respectively. Tiffany Geroudet lost in the round of 16 to the eventual 2012 bronze medallist Sun Yujie.;Men
;Women
Football
Switzerland men's football team qualified for the event by reaching the final of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.- Men's team event – 1 team of 18 players
Men's tournament
;Group play
Gymnastics
Artistic
;Men;Women
Judo
Switzerland has qualified 2 judokas.Rowing
On 11 May 2012, Augustin Maillefer, Nico Stahlberg, Florian Stofer and André Vonarburg qualified for the Olympic Rowing quadruple sculls and Mario Gyr, Simon Niepmann, Simon Schürch and Lucas Tramèr qualified for the Olympic Rowing lightweight four.;Men
Qualification Legend: FA=Final A ; FB=Final B ; FC=Final C ; FD=Final D ; FE=Final E ; FF=Final F ; SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage
Sailing
On 5 June 2012, Yannick Brauchli, Romuald Hausser, Flavio Marazzi, Enrico De Maria and Richard Stauffacher qualified to compete in the Olympic Sailing Men's events and Nathalie Brugger qualified to compete in the Olympic Sailing Women's event.;Men
;Women
M = Medal races; BFD = Black flag disqualification; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race;
Shooting
Switzerland has earned seven quota places.;Men
;Women
Swimming
Swiss swimmers have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following events, and one at the Olympic Selection Time :;Men
;Women
Synchronized swimming
Switzerland has qualified 2 quota places in synchronized swimming.Tennis
Triathlon
Switzerland has qualified four athletes.| Athlete | Event | Swim | Trans 1 | Bike | Trans 2 | Run | Total Time | Rank |
| Sven Riederer | Men's | 17:22 | 0:39 | 58:52 | 0:30 | 30:23 | 1:47:46 | 8 |
| Ruedi Wild | Men's | 18:28 | 0:42 | 59:17 | 0:28 | 32:15 | 1:51:10 | 39 |
| Daniela Ryf | Women's | 19:49 | 0:51 | 1:08:28 | 0:31 | 36:58 | 2:06:37 | 40 |
| Nicola Spirig | Women's | 19:24 | 0:40 | 1:05:33 | 0:30 | 33:41 | 1:59:48 |
Volleyball
Beach
Wrestling
On 11 May 2012, Pascal Strebel qualified to compete in the Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling.;Key
- - Victory by Fall.
- - Decision by Points - the loser with technical points.
- - Decision by Points - the loser without technical points.