Grappling with traditions

Once every three years, pairs of men meet in sawdust rings to test their strength, balance and ability to throw their partner to the ground. The Federal Wrestling and Alpine Games Festival is the most prestigious event for Swiss-style wrestling.

This content was published on August 31, 2013 - 15:00

Thomas Kern was born in Switzerland in 1965. Trained as a photographer in Zürich, he started working as a photojournalist in 1989. He was a founder of the Swiss photographers agency Lookat Photos in 1990. Thomas Kern has won twice a World Press Award and has been awarded several Swiss national scholarships. His work has been widely exhibited and it is represented in various collections.

The festival also features other unique Swiss sports – hornussen and stone throwing – as well as the best yodellers, flag-throwers and alphorn players in Switzerland.

In August 2007, swissinfo.ch photographer Thomas Kern documented the federal festival held in Aarau.

All images : Thomas Kern

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