He claimed his first Swiss national title in 1982, sharing the 100 m title with the more established Franco Fähndrich in a time of 10.47 seconds. This led to his selection for the 1982 European Athletics Championships, where he was a 100 m semi-finalist. He ran a personal best of 10.42 in the 1983 season. He took his first win at the Swiss Indoor Championships in 1985, taking the national title in the 60 metres – he went on to win eight consecutive Swiss titles from 1985 to 1991. He made his global debut at the 1985 IAAF World Indoor Games and was a semi-finalist after having set a personal best of 6.66 seconds in the first round. He competed in the event at the 1985 European Athletics Indoor Championships a few months later but did not progress beyond his first race. The highlights of his 1986 season were a 60 m lifetime best and Swiss record of 6.61 seconds and a semi-final placing in the event at the 1986 European Athletics Indoor Championships. That year he married Helen Barnett, a fellow sprinter and British Olympian.