Run for your wife! The top prize is their weight in beer
Run for your wife! Contestants from across the globe take part in world wife-carrying championships in Finland – where top prize is the wife’s weight in beer
- The winner gets at least 49 litres of beer to drink at the two day festival
- The festival is now replicated in the UK, USA, Australia, India and Germany
Beer lovers from across the globe have taken part in the world wife-carrying championships in Finland to win their partner’s weight in beer.
Husbands were pictured purple in the face as they struggled to lug their wives around a sand obstacle course and deep water pool in the middle summer.
Contestants headed to the small town of Sonkajärvi, Finland, armed with only a helmet and belt this weekend to win their wife’s weight in beer.
They have to be aged at least 17 and have to weigh at least 49kg, meaning the winning prize will secure their husbands at least 49 litres of beer.
The championship attracted 80 competitors last year and is now replicated in the UK, USA, Australia, India, Hong Kong and Germany.
Beer hungry husbands battle it out in Finland every year during the Wife Carrying World Championships in the hope to win their partner’s weight in beer
Men from across the globe drag their women through a deep water pool and sandy tracks to be crown the Wife carrying champion
Men and women of all ages and abilities compete as some who attend are just local folk looking to spice up their honeymoon but others are Olympians, marathon runners and seasoned decathlon competitors
Couples spent their Friday battling it out in a relay race as part of the two-day festival.
It involved three beer- loving men running a traditional relay race using someone’s wife as the baton.
Today men went head to head to win one of six titles – Winner, second place, third place, most entertaining couple, best costume and strongest carrier.
The winners got to show off their success when they were crowned at an award ceremony before letting their hair down during the over-18s dance party.
After paying 50 euros to register and chugging a beer before the race, the pair has to decide how to carry their significant other.
This typically includes piggyback over the shoulder or the ‘Estonian’ method – the woman hangs down the man’s back with her legs out front.
Winners! Competitors Taisto Miettinen and Katja Kovanen of Finland take the first place in the annual Wife Carrying World Championships in Sonkajaervi, Finland, 01 July 2023
The designated ‘wife’ has to be at least 17 years old and weighs in at a minimum of 49 kilograms. If she is lighter, then she will have to wear a weighted backpack
There is no strict dress code but contestants are encouraged to get dressed up to keep onlookers entertained
The fun-filled competition is also catching around the world as Australia, the UK, USA, India, Hong Kong, and Germany, now hold their own versions
The deep pool is supposed to only be a meter deep but contestants are convinced otherwise as many women struggle to keep their head above the water as their partners trudge across the pool
Couples can win one of six titles – Winner, second place, third place, most entertaining couple, best costume and strongest carrier
There are typically two methods used to carry their wives – piggyback over the shoulder or the ‘Estonian’ method where the woman hangs down the man’s back with her legs out front
Entertaining commentary is given for the entire wife carrying race to ensure spectators do not miss a thing
While it may sound relatively straight forward, it can take its toll on many after trudging through the sand and water mixed a few beers
The festival is fun for all as couples use the event to spice up a honeymoon or use it as a trust exercise in a new relationship
The winners are named at a ceremony where they can show their new trophy, kilos of beer and their beloved wife
The couples are armed with just a belt and helmet as they compete in groups of three for the top spot
Some men can be seen going purple in the face as they question their choices and dream of all important cold pint at the finishing line
The sandy obstacle course involves running around a track while climbing over logs as high as your waist
While you may think that the men have to do all the work, some women seem hard done by one they realise they have to spend the entire race with face full of sand, water and their husband’s behind
While some chose to go easy on their wives and walk through the water, others like to keep the spectators entertained at their wife’s expense
While the men go head to head, their partners seem to find look to one another for support as they question why they let their husband’s tak them into it
Competitors Costa Papaikonomou and Patricia Marsman-Papaikonomou of the Netherlands gave it their best shot this year but sadly did not secure that winning spot
men do not have to compete with their own partners but can borrow someone else’s instead or just use a friend as long as they above the age of 17
The history of the race is unknown, but it is said that it stemmed from a 17th-century gang who stole already married women from nearby villages.
Despite the competition being called the ‘Wife Carrying Championship’, men do not have to compete with their own partners but can borrow someone else’s instead or just use a friend.
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