Willi Melliger

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Willi Melliger medal table

Show jumping

SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland
Olympic rings Olympic games
silver 1996 Single
(with Calvaro )
silver 2000 Team
(with Calvaro )
European championships
silver 1981 Team
(with trump buur )
gold 1983 Crew
(with Van Gogh )
silver 1985 Team
(with Beethoven II )
bronze 1987 Crew
(with corso )
bronze 1989 Crew
(with corso )
bronze 1991 Crew
(with Quinta C )
gold 1993 Single
(with Quinta C )
gold 1993 Crew
(with Quinta C )
silver 1995 Single
(with Calvaro )
gold 1995 Team
(with Calvaro )
silver 1997 Single
(with Calvaro )
silver 1999 Team
(with Calvaro )
bronze 2003 Team
(with gold du talus )

Wilhelm “Willi” Melliger (born July 26, 1953 in Buttwil ; † January 15, 2018 ) was a Swiss show jumper and four-time Olympic participant.

Private

Willi Melliger lived in Neuendorf , where he ran a tournament and trading stable. He was divorced twice and had three children. His sons Kevin and Kay Melliger are also active as show jumpers. Melliger was the godfather of the show jumper Martin Fuchs .

Career

Willi Melliger was a trained butcher. His professional career, however, took place in equestrian sport: The first major sporting success was winning the Swiss championship in show jumping in 1974. He won the Grand Prize of the Swiss Nations Cup tournament for the first time in 1976 with Rhonas Boy . He contested his first international championship at the European championships in 1977.

In 1980, Switzerland did not take part in the Olympic Games in show jumping.Instead, a team was brought to the start of the substitute Olympic competitions for show jumpers organized by the boycotting countries in Rotterdam. Melliger belonged to the Swiss team and came seventh in the individual with Trumpf-Buur . A year later, Melliger won a team medal for the first time with the Swiss team, and by 2003, nine more should follow at European championships. With a total of 13 medals, Willi Melliger was the most successful Swiss show jumper at European championships.

For the first time at the World Cup final , Willi Melliger took part in 1982 with Trumpf-Buur . In 1983 Melliger achieved two great successes with Van Gogh : He became Swiss champion for the second time (he was to succeed a total of six times). He also won the Aachen Grand Prix that year . Ten years later he became individual show jumping European champion on Quinta C.

Between 1995 and 2001, in cooperation with Calvaro Melliger's most successful phase in sport: at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta , he won the individual silver medal behind Ulrich Kirchhoff . In 1995 and 1997 both won individual bronze at the European Championships, in spring 1996 Melliger and Calvaro achieved second place at the World Cup final in front of their home crowd in Geneva. Willi Melliger was the first Swiss to win the main test of the CSI Zurich in 1998 , also with Calvaro . At the World Equestrian Games that year, he just missed the medal ranks in individual and team rankings. In 2000 at the Olympic Games in Sydney he was able to win the silver medal with the Swiss team, consisting of Beat Mändli , Lesley McNaught and Markus Fuchs .

Willi Melliger achieved his last victory in an international Grand Prix in August 2009 with Lea C in Ranshofen . He last competed in an international jumping competition in November 2010. From 2007 to 2016, Willi Melliger worked as a trainer for the show jumping squad of juniors and young riders for the Swiss Equestrian Federation.

In addition to his sports career, Willi Melliger was always active as a horse dealer and also sold several of his championship horses. For years he has held horse shows at his riding facility, in the mid-2000s even at CSI  4 * level.

Willi Melliger died on January 15, 2018 of complications from a stroke .

Horses (excerpt)

  • Quinta C (* 1982), bay Selle Français mare, father: Cyrus; from the end of 1993 ridden by Alfonso Romo
  • Corso (* 1983), Hessian gray gelding
  • Calvaro (1986–2003), Holstein gray gelding, father: Cantus, mother's father : Merano, owner: Hans + Christina Liebherr
  • LB Annaconda / Annaconda II (* 1992), Holstein gray mare, father: Athlet Z, mother's father: Lord
  • Gold du Talus (* 1994), bay Selle Français-Wallach, father: Olisco, mother's father: In Chala A; ridden by Willi Melliger until 2009
  • Lea C (* 1996), bay Holstein mare, sold to Bertrand Darier for 1 million francs in 2006, ridden by Willi Melliger again from late 2008 to 2010.

Calvaro

Calvaro was discovered by Melliger at the age of eight and bought for 1 million DM . The couple won about 2 million francs in sports. Up to 5½ million francs were offered for Calvaro. The highest offer was made by the Jordanian Princess Haya , but her father, Hussein I , withdrew the offer at the last moment. Because of its success, cloning attempts were started with the mold. The first alone cost 250,000 francs. The foal died relatively quickly of a joint infection, which is said to have nothing to do with cloning, which is why a second attempt was started in the USA. The career ended due to a meniscus injury Calvaros. In September 2003 the gelding was euthanized at the age of 17.

successes

  • Olympic games:
    • 1984, Los Angeles : with Van Gogh 38th place in the individual and 5th place with the team
    • 1992, Barcelona : with Quinta C 61st place in the individual and 5th place with the team
    • 1996, Atlanta : with Calvaro 2nd place in the individual and 6th place with the team
    • 2000, Sydney : with Calvaro 10th place in the individual and 2nd place with the team
  • Olympic substitute competitions of the boycotting states :
    • 1980, Rotterdam: 7th place in the individual and 5th place with the team with Trumpf-Buur
  • World Championships / World Equestrian Games :
    • 1982, Dublin : with Trumpf-Buur 37th place in the individual and 9th place with the team
    • 1990, Stockholm: with Landlord 15th place in the individual and 7th place with the team
    • 1998, Rome: with Calvaro 4th place in the individual and 4th place with the team
  • European Championships :
    • 1977, Vienna: 6th place with the team with Butterfly
    • 1981, Munich: with Trumpf-Buur 32nd place in the individual and 2nd place with the team
    • 1983, Hickstead: 10th place with Van Gogh in the individual and 1st place with the team
    • 1985, Dinard: with Beethoven II 6th place in the individual and 2nd place with the team
    • 1987, St. Gallen: with Corso 7th place in the individual and 3rd place with the team
    • 1989, Rotterdam: with Corso 14th place in the individual and 3rd place with the team
    • 1991, La Baule: with Quinta C 9th place in the individual and 3rd place with the team
    • 1993, Gijón: with Quinta C 1st place in the individual and 1st place with the team
    • 1995, St. Gallen: 3rd place with Calvaro in the individual and 1st place with the team
    • 1997, Mannheim: 3rd place with Calvaro in the individual and 6th place with the team
    • 1999, Hickstead: with Calvaro 25th place in the individual and 2nd place with the team
    • 2001, Arnhem: with Annaconda II 25th place in the individual and 6th place with the team
    • 2003, Donaueschingen: with Gold du Talus 44th place in the individual and 3rd place with the team
  • World Cup final (selection):
    • 1996, Geneva: 2nd place with Calvaro
    • 1997, Gothenburg: 9th place with Calvaro
    • 2001, Gothenburg: 4th place with Calvaro
  • Swiss Championships (selection):
    • 1974: 1st place with Rhonas-Boy
    • 1983: 1st place with Van Gogh
    • 1985: 1st place with Beethoven II
    • 1987: 1st place with Corso
    • 1988: 1st place with Corso
    • 1996: 1st place with Calvaro

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Show jumper legend Melliger dies , SRF .ch, January 16, 2018
  2. ↑ a b Show jumping icon Willi Melliger passed away , Peter Wyrsch / Horse Week, January 16, 2018
  3. ↑ a b Willi Melliger - a great man in show jumping has gone forever , Dieter Ludwig, January 16, 2018
  4. ↑ a b Willi Melliger had a feeling and never took himself more seriously than his horses , obituary by Thomas Frei / Neue Zürcher Zeitung , January 16, 2018
  5. ^ Olympic Summer Games 1980: Results show jumping , history.fei.org
  6. ↑ a b Important successes by Willi Melliger , fei.org
  7. ^ FEI results database: Willi Melliger
  8. ↑ Junior Jumping 2017 - who is there? , pferdonline.ch, November 17, 2016
  9. ↑ see FEI tournament calendar
  10. ↑ Willi Melliger (64) is dead , report in view (newspaper)
  11. ↑ FEI horse database: Quinta C
  12. ↑ FEI horse database: Corso
  13. ↑ FEI horse database: Calvaro
  14. ^ FEI horse database: LB Annaconda
  15. ^ FEI horse database: Gold du Talus
  16. ↑ World Cup cancellation: A million made Melliger weak , July 12, 2006
  17. ↑ Lea C again with Willi Melliger ( Memento from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), Blick, November 19, 2008
  18. ↑ FEI horse database: Lea C
  19. ↑ Willi Melliger and the white myth , 20 minutes , September 14, 2010
  20. ↑ Riding: Willi Melliger's Calvaro euthanized - The white myth is dead , news.ch, October 3, 2003
  21. ↑ Medal table of Swiss riders and drivers, show jumping since 1923 ( Memento of December 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)
personal data
SURNAME Melliger, Willi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Melliger, Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss show jumper
DATE OF BIRTH July 26, 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH Buttwil , Canton of Aargau
DATE OF DEATH 15th January 2018