Wetass Sport #253–Wife Carrying: Here’s one they should definitely add to the Olympics (my vote: bump synchronized swimming). The basics: race 830 feet, through a pool and over hurdles, carrying your wife. First prize (and this really drives up the appeal)–the wife’s weight…in beer (plus a sauna to help with the resulting hangover). Credit for coming up with this creative competition goes to the idle Finns who live in the little hamlet of Sonkajarvi, just shy of the Arctic Circle (too much darkness, too much snow, too much chilled vodka, too little to do). The origins of the race lie in the 19th century local tradition of raiding neighboring villages and carrying women off. And on Saturday the seventh annual world championships was staged. Eighteen couples competed in front of 7,000 spectators. And the contest was won by an Estonian couple, Madis Uusorg and Inga Klauso, in a blazing time of just over a minute. Their secret weapon: the “Estonian carry,” in which Inga clamped her thighs tightly to either side of Madis’ face and hung upside down on his back. Hmm, I wonder how they came up with that one…



The British Contingent: “Dammit, Edina, you’re supposed to wait until after the competition to fill up on beer. And look! Georgina is carrying her bleeding purse…”

(Photo: Lehtikuva/Reuters)