Finnish Finish First for Second Year at North American Wife Carrying Championship

[FarCenter]

The Finnish couple, Taisto Miettinen and Reetta Sairanen, from Helsinki, Finland, defended their title as North American champions at today’s 14th annual North American Wife Carrying Championship (NAWCC) at Sunday River Resort.

Miettinen and Sairanen won the 278-yard obstacle race with a time of 48.19 seconds beating second place finishers, Chris Poirier from Waterville, ME and Cristyn Peters from Strafford, NH.

Poirier and Peters finished the final heat with a time of 51.48 seconds.

In addition to the 2013 North American Wife Carrying Championship title, Miettinen and Sairanen take home cash equal to five times her weight ($445) as well as her weight in beer.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1521777

[longship]

1. Before I comment. I am a Suomalainen.

In other words, a Finn. (What you call Finland, we call Suomi.)

Nota bene: this was a contest in the USA. In Suomi, the contest would be held with the women carrying the men.

That's called Sisu, a term that, if you are not a Suomalainen, you will not likely understand, even if you use Babelfish translate. It's a cultural thing. My Suomalainen mother had Sisu.

On edit: hyvää päivää

[rdharma]

2. Husband carrying..... The Women of Weinsberg

Germany - 32U 520619 5444602 UTM

When King Conrad III defeated the Duke of Welf (in the year 1140) and placed Weinsberg under siege, the wives of the besieged castle negotiated a surrender which granted them the right to leave with whatever they could carry on their shoulders. The king allowed them that much. Leaving everything else aside, each woman took her own husband on her shoulders and carried him out. When the king's people saw what was happening, many of them said that that was not what had been meant and wanted to put a stop to it. But the king laughed and accepted the women's clever trick. "A king" he said, "should always stand by his word."