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Will Wife Carrying become an Olympic sport?
Note: This article contains pronouns, jokes about sports and a four-letter word that some people may find offensive.
In the spirit of eccentric sports such as cheese rolling, bog snorkeling and wok racing, Wife Carrying (eukonkanto in Finnish, kärringkånk in Swedish) was created in Finland in 1992 as a satirical take on historical rumors of wife snatching in the 19th century when starvation and loneliness drove desperate men to steal woman from neighboring villages. (Reports of cannibalism have never been confirmed.)
The sport soon caught on with world championships starting in 1996 in Sonkajärvi, Finland. Today, wife carrying has gone international with national championships in ten countries including the UK, Australia, Sweden, China, Estonia and Lithuania among others and an annual world championship in Sonkajärvi attended by thousands. The competition follows the rules established by the International Wife Carrying Competition Rules Committee (IWCCR), also known as the Eukonkanto International Rules Committee (EKSVK).
Here’s how it works. Two-person teams race across an obstacle course, one carrying the other in any manner.
There are no gender or marital requirements nor are there any rules for attire, unlike the mandatory mini-string-bikinis for Olympic women’s volleyball.
