drugs and fighting. "But now, with wrestling, they have a healthy occupation. It's a job which has really been able to turn the youth around, reduce unemployment and crime."
Pape Konate, set to become one of the coun- try's wrestling stars, agrees. He gets up at 0500 and runs 20km along the beach and then trains in the gym throughout the day.
In the evening, he comes to the wrestling school to spar with the other young wrestlers, a routine which is physically grueling and keeps him occupied in a country where half the populations are unemployed. "Wrestling is our work and it's a proper profession now," says Konate. "You have to work hard and concentrate to get to the highest level.
Usage of charms and other spiritual means has been a common practice in modern-day wrestling in Senegal
"Tyson is stepping down now, so it's us, the next generation. I'm working to be a big cham- pion and to retire at 45, exceedingly rich" he concluded. Today, the champions of
Senegalese wrestling now enjoys a large sponsorship boom from telecommunications companies 30
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