SONKAJARVI, Finland (Reuters) - Tongue firmly in cheek and woman securely on shoulder, Estonia\'s wife carriers crushed all competition, winning the world championship for a sixth straight year.
The bizarre event, in which a man carries a woman over a 250-yard obstacle course, is rooted in a local legend about a wife-stealing gang. Revived as a contest 11 years ago, it now draws contestants from all around the world.
Saturday\'s winners, Margo Uusorg, 23, and Egle Soll, 21, romped home in just over one minute. Soll was also carrying nearly 10 pounds of sand to bring her up to the regulation minimum weight.
The prize? Her body weight in beer; almost 45 liters of ale.
Estonians -- who also came second while third place went to a Danish couple -- have forged a fierce reputation in the contest and many fear being drawn against them.
Their prize winning tactic is the highly effective "Estonian Carry" -- where the woman squeezes her thighs on the sides of the man\'s face while hanging upside down on his back.
Organizers said 8,000 people attended this year\'s event, which cost more than $110,000 to stage at the central Finnish village of Sonkajarvi, only a few hours\' drive from the Arctic Circle.
Clearly now a major international draw, this year\'s competition attracted entrants from the United States, Britain, Ireland and Denmark, as well as Finns and Estonians.
"I weigh 18 stones, six pounds and that translates into 205.9 pints of lager and we intend to win it here today," said Julia Galvin, 32, from Listowel in western Ireland, adding she was also president of the Irish Bog Snorkeling Association.
Topic: Estonians Reign Supreme in Wife Carrying Contest (Read 553 times)