Introducing the sport you didn’t know you needed. Welcome to the weird, wonderful world of competitive wife-carrying. On your marks, get set….go

Wife-carrying race is a contest in which male competitors race while each carrying a female teammate. The objective is for the male to carry the female through a special obstacle track in the fastest time. The sport was first introduced at Sonkajärvi, Finland.

Several types of carry may be practiced: piggyback, fireman's carry (over the shoulder), or the so-called Estonian style (the wife hangs upside-down with her legs around the husband's shoulders, holding onto his waist). The Wife-carrying World Championships have been held annually since 1992 in Finland and are held in 2018 on July 6–7. In addition to bragging rights and a product prize, the winning couple takes home the wife's weight in beer.

• World Championships 2018

– http://eukonkanto.fi/info

RULES

The original course was a rough, rocky terrain with fences and brooks, but it has been altered to suit modern conditions. The race course now must include sandy terrain – in place of the past terrain with full rock, fences; and some kind of area filled with water, such as a pool for instance. The following rules have been set by the International Wife-carrying Competition Rules Committee (while these International rules are the basis for all competitions, rules and prizes do vary for each competition):

• The length of the official track is 253.5 meters.

• The track has two dry obstacles and a water obstacle about one meter deep.

• The wife to be carried may be your own, or the neighbor's, or you may have found her further afield; she must, however, be over 17 years of age.

• The minimum weight of the wife to be carried is 49 kilograms. If she weighs less than 49 kg, she will be burdened with a rucksack containing additional weight to bring the total load carried up to 49 kg.

• All participants must enjoy themselves.

• The only equipment allowed is a belt worn by the carrier and a helmet worn by the carried.

• The contestants run the race two at a time, so each heat is a contest in itself.

• Each contestant takes care of his/her safety and, if deemed necessary, insurance.

• The contestants have to pay attention to the instructions given by the organizers of the competition.

• There is only one category in the World Championships, and the winner is the couple who completes the course in the shortest time.

• The most entertaining couple, the best costume, and the strongest carrier will be awarded a special prize.

HISTORY

There is a popular saying that “The wife carrying championships are the true test for any marriage”

Wife carrying race originated in Finland, and is based on a tale about a robber named Herkko Rosvo-Ronkainen. Along with his gang of thieves, Ronkainen allegedly stole for himself a wife from a nearby region in the 19th century, carrying the stolen woman on his shoulders as he ran from the scene of the crime.

Although the modern era wife-carrying competitions are viewed by most as fun and entertainment, most of the competitors participating take the races quite seriously, just like any other sport, in addition to having fun. Wife-carrying contests are now seen in Australia, the United States, Hong Kong, Estonia, the UK and other parts of the world besides Finland. Wife-carrying has also a category in the Guinness Book of Records.

• Wife-carrying in North America

– http://wife-carrying.org/

1ST MILLENNIUM THEFT OF A FINNIC WIFE

The phenomenon referred to as wife-stealing is known also from much older Nordic history and legends. Perhaps the most consequential wife-stealing occurrence in the Nordic history pertains to Gói, an early medieval descendant of King Fornjót and a daughter of King Thorri.

According to 'History of the Earls of Orkney' ("Orkneyinga saga"), written in c. 1230 – centuries after some of the events it records -Fornjót was a "king", who "reigned over Gotland, which we now know as Finland and Kvenland".

According to the medieval account Hversu Noregr byggðist ("How Norway was Inhabited/

Founded"), Fornjót's great-grandson Snaer the Old ("Old Snow") and his son Thorri were also kings.

According to Hversu Noregr byggdist, Thorri "ruled over Gothland, Kvenland (Kænlandi), and Finland", and Kvens – a Finnic people – made sacrifices to Thorri. Both Orkneyinga saga and Hversu Noregr byggðist are found in the Islandic Flatey Book (Flateyjarbók), compiled in the late 14th century but – largely – of much older sources.

Based on the information given, Gói was stolen. This appears to have happened around the mid-1st-millennium AD. When Gói was still not found after three years, her brothers Nór and Gór set out separately in search of her, with many folk in their following. Eventually Nór found Gói, who had been stolen by Hrólf from southwestern Scandinavia.

A long single combat took place between Nór and Hrólf, after which the two ended up coming to terms. Hrólf kept Gói as his wife, and Nór later married Hrólf's sister. Nór became known as the founder of Norway. He united the petty kingdoms of southwestern Scandinavia into one country that became known as Norway.

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