Hi all,
Saw the following sports item today and thought it deserved a larger audience.
SONKAJARVI, Finland - Tongue firmly in cheek and woman securely on shoulder,
Estonia's wife carriers crushed all competition on Saturday, winning the
world championship for a sixth straight year.
The bizarre event, in which a man carries a woman over a 250 metre 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.
The winners, Margo Uusorg, 23, and Egle Soll, 21, romped home in just over
one minute. Soll was also carrying 4.5 kg of sand to bring her up to the
regulation minimum weight.
The prize? Her body weight in beer; almost 45 litres 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 $114,600
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.
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Received on Sun Jul 13 18:12:52 2003
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