World Wife Carrying Championship in Finland...

It may have been the Wimbledon finals weekend, but for some couples there’s one mixed doubles competition that is far more important - the World Wife Carrying Championships.

The 16th annual event took place in Sonkajarvi, Finland today and husbands and wives have been giving it their all. Competitors from 11 countries including Britain, Germany and Australia have been hauling their wives around an obstacle course in the annual wacky spouse race.

The couples run over grass, sand and asphalt as well as tackling water obstacles reaching depths of up to a metre. The winning couple are the ones to get across the course the fastest.

The wives are carried in what is known as ‘Estonian style’, which looks like a bum deal for the women who are hauled upside down with legs around their husband’s shoulders.

The roots of these comical championships are thought to date back to the late 1800s when Finnish villagers would steal women and carry them away on their backs.


/Metro.co.uk/