Medals in the mud - Hundreds wade in at Germany's 'Wattoluempiade'

Participants joke as they enter the mud pitch before a handball match at the so called "Wattoluempiade" (Mud Olympics) in Brunsbuettel at the Elbe river, near the North Sea, Germany July 21, 2018. REUTERS/Morris Mac Matzen

BERLIN (Reuters) - Hundreds of competitors plunged into mud in a northern German coastal town as they took part in the "Wattoluempiade" (Mud Olympics) in the hope of bagging a medal and raising money for cancer patients.

Around 4,000 people attended the Mud Olympics on Saturday in Brunsbuettel, where 40 teams from Germany and neighbouring countries played football and volleyball in the mud.

The competition also included a sledge race. Sledges are used to transport items over the mud flats of the German North Sea coast.

The Mud Olympics has been raising money for charity since 2004 and this year collected more than 47,000 euros (41,799 pounds) to fight cancer.

(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Hugh Lawson)