EPA / MARKKU OJALA / LANDOV
It ’s probably the most painstaking , heart wrenching , and stress induce test of dedication a spousal relationship can look . But the wages at the end is fairly fresh .
At the annual Wife Carrying World Championships in Sonkajärvi , Finland , male competitors race around a runway haul their female spouse on their back . Winner take home his married woman ’s weight in beer .
It ’s no ordinary racetrack , either . Competitors must wade through a neck opening - deep pool of water , go up over vault , and prevail through pits of Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin before crossbreed the finish line .
While some participant assume disturbed costumes for the pre - race , the actual event is fairly straight - tied . Wives must librate at least 49 kilograms ( 108 pound ) . Any woman light than that is postulate to express a heavy rucksack until she reaches this lower limit . A participant who drops his married woman will be penalized 15 seconds . But there is one snatch : contestants do n’t have to dribble their own married woman . A protagonist ’s married woman , stranger ’s wife , or even a random grandmother will do – as long as she ’s over 17 .
MARKKU OJALA / EPA / Landov
Contestants flock from 47 countries across the globe to show their material in this epic display of brute strength . This class , Finnish coupleTaisto Miettinen and Kristiina Haapanencaptured the title for the fourth consecutive year . The 46 - year - old lawyer and his married woman completed the 235 - meter course in one minute and four seconds .
Like any dedicated athlete , Miettinen describe that he ’d been training for a while . “ In last fall , I start running in the track , one hundred , two hundred and four hundred meters , ” Miettinen say in a post - race interview . He also practiced the course in ski boots to build leg strength .
The contender , which begin in 1992 , is supposedly rooted in the fable of Ronkainen the Robber — a hardnosed crowd leader who haze possible members by make them block sacks of caryopsis or lively grunter over a like course . He and his comrades also made a use of stealing women from neighboring villages ( as a nod to this recitation , many men “ steal ” friends ’ wives for the competition ) .
If you desire to contend but ca n’t make it to Finland , there ’s a North American version of the competition heldin Octoberat Sunday River Resort in Maine . With 100 - plus pound sign of brewski on the line , you might want to recount your significant other to start shaping up .
