- Title: FINLAND: COUPLE FROM ESTONIA WIN ANNUAL WIFE-CARRYING CONTEST.
- Date: 5th July 2003
- Summary: SONKJARVI, FINLAND (JULY 05, 2003) (REUTERS -- ACCESS ALL) 1. WIFE-CARRYING ATHLETES FALL IN STEEPLE-CHASE POOL OF WATER 2. WIFE-CARRYING ATHLETES CLAMBER OVER OBSTACLE ON COURSE 3. FANS WATCHING 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WENDY STRAATMANN OF UNITED STATES TEAM, SAYING: "I haven´t really done much training. Warren here has been running with a backpack full of rock salt to be ready. I´ve just given up eating ice cream for the past few weeks." 5. COMPETITION 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) HANNAH WILLOUGHBY, ENGLAND, SAYING: "We are the David and Victoria Beckham of wife-carrying. I am sure we are going to win." 7. "PADDY POWER" TEAM IRELAND FALLING DOWN ON OBSTACLE COURSE 8. ESTONIAN TEAM CHAMPIONS 9. ESTONIAN FANS 10. ESTONIAN TEAM OF MARGO UUSORG AND EGLE SOLL FINISHING (NUMBER 22) AND SETTING NEW RECORD 11. ESTONIAN FANS 12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARGO UUSORG, WORLD CHAMPION, IS ASKED WHAT HE WILL DO WITH THE PRIZE BEER: "Look, my fan club. This is serious!" 13. ESTONIAN FANS TAKING AWAY PRIZE BEER 14. MARGO UUSORG HOISTING "PADDY POWER" JULIA GAVIN ON HIS BACK Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 20th July 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: SONKAJARVI, FINLAND
- Country: Finland
- Reuters ID: LVADTJV92MLZ4TL2M17K6PRHILCC
- Story Text: A couple from Estonia have once again beaten all
competitors in the annual wife-carrying competition in central
Finland.
The Estonians beat competitors from England, Ireland,
the United States, Denmark and Finland on Saturday (July 5) to
take the top prize for the sixth year in succession.
Estonian Margo Uusorg and Egle Soll set a new record for
the competition and won Egle's weight in beer as their prize.
Competitors, carrying their wives or partners (they do not
have to be married), must run on a 253 metre course featuring
sand, grass and asphalt surfaces.
Two dry and water-filled obstacles must be negotiated.
There are severe penalties for dropping your wife, and points are
deducted for bouncing her around too much.
Competition organisers say the event is founded on a local
folk story about a military chieftan and his band of men
stealing away brides from neighbouring villages.
Begun in 1992 as a small-town gathering with a nod toward
attracting tourists, the competition turned into a fierce
sporting event with the arrival of Estonian couples in the late 1990s.
They revolutionised the contest by using their "Estonian
carry" technique with the woman hanging upside down on the
man's back.
Women competitors have to weigh a minumum of 49
kilogrammes or carry ballast to make that weight.
The lighter the better, says U.S. champion Wendy Straatmann from
Oklahoma, who gave up weeks of ice cream eating to prepare for the
contest.
The English entry of medical students Thomas Winter and
Hannah Willoughby described themselves as the "Beckhams" of
wife-carrying, but were swept away by the Estonians--as was
the "Paddy Power" team of Irish strongman Paul Robert and
school teacher Julia Galvin.
The Estonians and their fans opened their prize crates of
beer after the contest and invited the other competitors to
the impromptu party.
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