Wife-carrying championship victory brings beer and cash

NEWRY, Maine — Some partners are carried over the threshold. Others are carried over a muddy obstacle course.

Contestants are hoisting their partners and embarking on a muddy 278-yard (254-meter) race on Saturday, splashing through water, jumping over logs and trudging through muck during the North American Wife Carrying Championship.

There is nothing dainty or graceful about the raucous event at Sunday River ski resort.

And the spoils are modest — cash and beer.

Most of the participants use a technique where there the “wife” is carried like a backpack — but upside down — to ensure the runners’ arms are free for the greatest agility. Wearing smiles and grimaces, competitors end up wet and muddy after splashing through water and climbing over logs and sometimes falling down.

The sport's origin story isn't exactly politically correct. It is based on Finland’s “Ronkainen the Robber,” whose gang was known to pillage villages and carry away the women.

Traditionally, the Finnish event featured male competitors carrying a woman. On Saturday, competing couples didn't have to be married, nor did they have to be a man and a woman.

There is no gold medal or trophy for the winner. Instead, the champion leaves with the weight of the “wife” in beer and five times the wife's weight in cash.