Culture clash sees Koreans wrestle by the Matterhorn
Keystone
No, you’re not seeing things – those really are Korean wrestlers grappling in front of the Matterhorn. The exhibition fight on the Gornergrat Mountain above Zermatt is part of the Swiss Alpine wrestling festival.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch
The festivalExternal link, which took place 2,500 metres above sea level in front of the iconic Matterhorn on September 12-14, featured masterclasses for young locals given by several Swiss wrestling champions, fights, a “wrestlers’ brunch” and the appearance of four invited Korean Ssireum wrestlers.
There are similarities between Korean and Swiss wrestling (Schwingen): both take place within a circular sand or sawdust arena and involve wearing a sort of belt, with the aim being to get your opponent on the ground.
This year, 40 cubic metres of sawdust were hauled up the Gornergrat for the event.
Popular Stories
More
Multinational companies
Azeri fossil-fuel cash cow brings controversy to Switzerland
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Schwingen: from a sawdust ring to a mega-event
This content was published on
From August 30 to September 1, Burgdorf, the capital of the Emmental region, is hosting more than 250,000 spectators at the Federal Wrestling and Alpine Games Festival, held once every three years to find the nation’s champion “schwinger”. “Once upon a time, there was a Swiss national sport for insiders and wrestling fans,” Ernst Schläpfer,…
This content was published on
“As an athlete but also as a human being, I think we need to stop any kind of discrimination in order to unleash our full potential,” Simona Meiler told swissinfo.ch ahead of the games. Meiler is one of Switzerland’s best snowboarders and finished 10th in her event on Sunday. She is also the only openly…
This content was published on
The best wrestler at the Federal Wrestling and Alpine Games, which is held every three years, is known as the king schwinger. In Swiss wrestling, which has become enormously popular in the past few years, the fighters compete in a sawdust ring, and have to throw their opponents onto their backs. The sport is more…
This content was published on
Swiss photographer Robert Huber has published an illustrated book of Swiss Schwingers – wrestlers – ahead of the Federal Wrestling and Alpine Games Festival 2010. The often homoerotic images, in which 18 men try to get each other to the floor, convey the sport’s power, emotion and techniques.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.