Wife Carrying World Championship 2016, Sonkajärvi, Finland

Zagan the motorhome’s free camping by yet another beautiful lake in Sonkajärvi, the small town in Finland which hosts the delightfully wacky yearly Wife Carrying World Championship (N63.67156, E27.53456). Official motorhome parking is made available in the town for €20 a day (or €25 with electricity). Our choice was to kip a little way out of town and walk in, not feeling too much guilt as (a) the parking in town is just that – car parks and (b) we’ve paid €28 each entrance to watch the competition (plus I’m the proud owner of a eukonkanto T-shirt!).

Wild Camping in Sonkajärvi

The lake here late at night. Beautiful, but the near constant light’s wrecking my sleep – from 9 hours a night in the Alps in February to 3 or 4 hours as we approach the Arctic.

Right! What’s this here Wife Carrying all about? Well, the story goes there used to be a band of thieves living in the forest about these parts, lead by a chap called Herkko Ronkainen. Our man Herkko only wanted the strongest fellas in his villain-team, so tested them by sending them into the villages to pillage women and carry them back, covering various forest obstacles on the way – streams, fences, springs, stones and so on. The Wife Carrying Championship has taken this legend, and applied it to modern day life, where wife thieving is not allowed, but fun is craved almost as much as a pinched wife!

Wife Carrying Time!

We’d spotted the championship was taking place in line with our plans to drive north, so we’ve stayed here a couple of days. Richard and Jenny, who we met in Estonia, nipped up after taking in the smoke sauna yesterday, so we’ve watched the action together. Mexican grub’s being served up by them later, fantastic. The rest of today comes to you in photo format, hope they give a flavour of the fun of the thing!

Richard having a crack at the water-throw-on-sauna accuracy test

Not so much water made it into the sauna, but hey, Richard had a go. Shamefully, I was too knackered and grumpy this morning to even try (approx 1 hour’s sleep last night)…

Newspaper clippings from previous Wife Carrying Goings-On

A Scotsman’s made it here at some point in the past!

The course is 253.5m long and includes a 1m deep water obstacle, two fences and stretches of sand

Although Pasi, the fireman we met on midsummer, told me the wife carriers were ‘real athletes’, not everyone took it too seriously

The best technique: carrying your wife (no longer actually has to be your wife) upside down. Leap into the water obstacle at full pelt. Go slow and go left on the exit. Try not to drown your wife.

This chap was looking good after about 20 metres

But sadly forgot the ‘no drowning rule’ and had to be rescued. He then promptly gave up and was handed a beer by a spectator. I suspect it might not have been his first of the day…

Other method are available – here the ‘side-sling’, but also the ‘piggy-back’ was in evidence. Note to self: wife carrying looks seriously difficult; one or two couples only just managed the course

See-through shorts were optional (avert your eyes chaps)

But for maybe 5% of the competitors, the race was just a bit of fun

But the 5%ers took it very seriously indeed

Seriously enough to hammer home the win – here are the 2016 World Wife Carrying Champions, from Russia. I shook his hand, which he promptly crushed like a biscuit

So there you go! The wives have to be at least 49Kg and over 17 years old, and mad enough to be first half-drowned then head-whacked on the fences. The winner receives his wife’s bodyweight in beer, of course! Wait, wait, we’ve got a bit of video to show you too, sound helps with the atmosphere!

Cheers, Jay

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