Finns return to top form in wife-carrying world championships

[Eldritch]

Couples winners Taisto Miettinen and Kristiina Haapanen of Finland at full speed.

Finns Tops at Wife Carrying

Finnish men are not in the habit of bragging. However there’s no denying that they’re better than anyone else in the world when it comes to carrying their partners.

This year, Finnish spouse-carrying duo Taisto Miettinen and Kristiina Haapanen repeated their victory at the world wife carrying championship in Sonkajärvi, northern Savo.

The Helsinki residents came out on top of the Estonian couple Alar Voogle and Kristi Viltropi, beating them into second place by a mere five seconds. In third place was the southwest Finland pair of Ilpo Haalosto and Satu Jurinen.

The Estonian team Konkurendidi won the team event, while the home team Sonkaru (of Sonkajärvi) placed second and Team Ireland settled for third place. The team event involved 44 couples.

This year wife-carrying men from The United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland and Poland all competed to be first in line for the dubious []distinction.

Organisers say that some 4,000 spectators turned up to cheer on their favourites, while journalists and television crews from six countries recorded the action for posterity.

This year was the fifteenth championship event, which was won by Estonia 11times.

Link.

Pictures from the event:









Julia Galvin (Ireland) and Mauri Zahkna (Estonia). I think I know why this couple did not win:




Event webpage.

[Óttar]

That'd be cool if they had husband carrying. If they did it enough over a couple hundred thousand years, we could evolve into clitoris' like male angler-fish.

[nisse]

I think I know why this couple did not win:




Event webpage.

Poor guy! What was he thinking? That he no longer needs his spine?

[Eldritch]

Poor guy! What was he thinking? That he no longer needs his spine?

On the other hand, it may pay to take a risk: the main price is your wife's weight in beer.

[Beorn]

I feel their pain. I once ran whilst pushing my other half in a wheelbarrow from St.Peter's Port town church right round past Dix Neuf and through the quadrangle to end back in near the church doors.

I didn't stop sweating for a full 30 minutes afterwards.

I got a couple of drinks my way from the company boss for doing well for the company, and my name in the local rag ... spelt wrong of course.

[Jarl]

Finns return to the woods

[Eldritch]

Finns return to the woods

History

The sport originated as a joke in Finland, supposedly reminiscent of a past in which men courted women by running to their village, picking them up, and carrying them off.

The Wife Carrying Contest has very deep roots in Sonkajärvi's local history, despite its humorous aspect. In the late 1800s a brigand called Rosvo-Ronkainen was staying in the area. He allegedly only accepted troops who proved their worth on a challenging track. The sport is now practised around the world and has a category in the Guinness Book of Records.

[Loki]

From what I've heard, Finns would probably win the husband-carrying championships as well.

[Pallantides]

There was a similar practice in Norway, men went on 'bruderov'.

[Eldritch]

There was a similar practice in Norway, men went on 'bruderov'.

Why not revive it?

Finland's Wife-carrying Association helps people organise events in other countries too, if you contact them.