Ángel López Soto (Interview) #swpa

Sony World Photography Awards 2020

Ángel López Soto, winner, Sport Category, Professional Competition

Wrestling has become the number one national sport in Senegal and parts of The Gambia. It belongs to a larger West African form of traditional wrestling (known as Lutte Traditionnelle) and is more popular than football.

Senegalese wrestlers practice two forms of the sport: Lutte Traditionnelle Avec frappe and Lutte Traditionnelle sans frappe. The sport has become a means of social ascendance, making some athletes millionaires.

Fights have been known to attract audiences of around 50,000 in a stadium. For many, it’s a slice of African life, tradition, and culture, in which there is a mix of animist and Muslim beliefs.

Ángel’s pictures show wrestlers training on a beach in Dakar.

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