SONKAJARVI, Finland (Reuters) - Estonians have revolutionised the Finnish sport of wife-carrying with a bold new approach that took them to a double victory at the third annual world championships held on Saturday. Wife-carrying, a sport rooted in the folklore of the remote 5,500-inhabitant parish, was revived seven years ago to perk up the summer fete. Men lug their wife — or any woman over 17 — over a 253.5-metre course of sand, grass and asphalt, negotiating a water pool, a perilously sharp bend and two log hurdles on the way. Dropping the woman adds a 15-second penalty. In previous years the preferred styles of wife-carrying have been the piggyback and the fireman‘s lift. On Saturday the 7,000-strong crowd was abuzz with talk of the bizarre style of the Estonian contingent: the woman dangled face down on the carrier‘s back with her legs over his shoulders and crossed in front of his chest. The style proved to be a winning formula, as with their hands free the three Estonian carriers powered to first, second and sixth place. Students Imre Ambos, 22, and Annela Ojaste, 26, won in a time of one minute 9.2 seconds. The world record of one minute five seconds remains unbroken.
As well as 7,000 markka ($1,260) worth of prizes and Annela‘s weight in beer, the winners got instant celebrity, posing for photographers and signing autographs.
