Unusual Sports: Wife Carrying World Championships 2023 Finland
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
In July of this year, the Annual Wife Carrying World Championships were held in Sonkajarvi, Finland.
This event is considered to be one of the seven most bizarre feats of strength in the world.
The event also includes a team wife carrying relay, in which three men race using one wife as the baton.
The wife must be at least 17 years old and weigh at least 49 kilos.
The Championships attract a wide range of competitors including Olympians and marathon runners.
There is an entrance fee of €50 and the winners receive the equivalent in beer of the wife’s weight, a bag full of wife carrying merchandise and an official logo statue.
The ‘sport’ which is inspired by historical wife stealing traditions has also taken off in other countries around the world, including Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, India, the UK and the US.
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
