Now this is my kind of contest. Each year in Finland there is a race where husbands have to carry their wives through an obstacle course and the winner gets his old lady’s weight in beer.
The sport originated as a joke in Finland, supposedly based on an ages old custom where men courted women by running to their village, picking them up and carrying them off.
The Wife Carrying Contest has very deep roots in Finnish history. The sport is now practiced around the world and has a category in the Guinness Book of Records.
During the competition, several types of wife-carrying may be employed, but the most popular is the Estonian-style, where the wife hangs upside-down with her legs around the husband’s shoulders, holding onto his waist.
Major wife-carrying competitions are held in Sonkajarvi, Finland; Monona, Wisconsin; Minocqua, Wisconsin; and Marquette, Michigan.
The North American Wife Carrying Championships take place every year on Columbus Day Weekend in October at Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry, Maine. North American Champions go on to compete in the Finnish World Championship.
Watch this brief video of the wife-carrying world championship in Finland.
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