Senegalese and Swiss wrestlers swap styles on a dirt field in Dakar
Laamb met Schwingen in Parcelles Assainies on the sidelines of the Youth Olympics, and each side won its own game.
Dakar — Two wrestling traditions met on Sunday on a dirt field between buildings in Parcelles Assainies, a suburb of Dakar, as a cultural exchange on the sidelines of the Youth Olympic Games.
Three Senegalese and three Swiss wrestlers took part, to drums and traditional songs. In Senegalese laamb, wrestlers fight bare-chested in a loincloth and often wear protective charms known as gris-gris. In Swiss Schwingen, they wear thick sackcloth shorts over trousers and grip those shorts to throw and pin an opponent.
The event was started by the Senegalese wrestling star Emile François Gomis, known as Franc, who helped the Swiss tie their loincloths. The legend Modou Lo, who lives in the area, danced with his protégés, and the visitors joined in.
The Senegalese won the laamb bouts, and the Swiss took their revenge in Schwingen. Swiss wrestler Matthieu Burger said the Senegalese keep more distance between them, while his own sport demands a constant grip. Mayor Aboubacar Djamil Sane called the two styles a cultural and sporting bridge.
Source: AFP via Africanews, November 2026.
