Swiss Bobsleigh Pilot Melanie Hasler: “The Olympics in Beijing was never my goal”

Melanie Hasler never dreamed she would be competing in bobsleigh finals at Beijing 2022 only three years after switching her focus from volleyball.

The Swiss athlete was a member of the national youth volleyball team before taking up the winter sport in 2017 and competing in both until the 2019/2020 season.

At that point Hasler chose to concentrate solely on bobsleigh - initially in the 2-woman bobsled - and she soon made an impression on the world stage at junior and senior levels.

Her trajectory continued and at the Olympic Winter Games Hasler reached the monobob final where she placed seventh, 1.78secs off the podium occupied by Kaillie Humphries, Elana Meyers Taylor and Laura Nolte.

The 23-year-old pilot returns to the track at Yanqing National Sliding Centre for the 2-woman bobsled with Switzerland teammate and brakeman Nadja Pasternack, who is also making her Winter Olympics debut.

They are one of two Swiss pairs with Martina Fontanive piloting the other.

Two official training heats were completed on Tuesday 15 February, continuing through until Thursday 17 February.

Competition opens with heat 1 on Friday 18 February (20:00) followed by heat 2 at 21:30 and heat 3 on Saturday 19 February (20:00).

The medals will be decided in heat 4 which gets under way at 21:30.

The speed of her rise has shocked Hasler who said before the Games that Beijing had not been on her radar, telling blick.ch: "The Olympics in Beijing was never my goal, I only had the 2026 Games in mind."

Of Dominican heritage, Hasler was born in Berikon, in the Swiss canton of Aargau, in May 1998, the youngest of four children.

Volleyball was her first love and by the time she was 13 Hasler was training seven times a week and competing in beach and indoor