Despite missing out on the past two Olympic Games, four-time Swiss all-around champion Niki Böschenstein told IG he is "ready to rock" from 2009 until the 2012 Olympics.

Born Feb. 12, 1985, in Zurich, Böschenstein emerged from the junior ranks to become one of Switzerland's top prospects for the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympics. He led Switzerland to the team silver medal at the 2002 Junior European Championships in Patras, Greece. Misfortune struck Böschenstein in the all-around final in Patras, for which he qualified in fourth place. On his first event in the all-around final (floor exercise), Böschenstein broke his foot after landing awkwardly on a simple tumbling pass. Böschenstein's return to competition was quick and remarkable. He became the youngest Swiss men's champion in history in 2003, and was the top Swiss all-arounder (seventh place) at the 2004 European Championships in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Because Switzerland finished 14th at the 2003 World Championships, only two Swiss men earned berths to the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Christoph Schärer and Andreas Schweizer were sent, over Böschenstein, to represent Switzerland in Athens. In this IG Online interview, Niki Böschenstein recalls his high and low points of 2008, and outlines his plans for the next phase of his career starting with 2009. mehr