We know you've all been waiting to hear the results of the year's most important contest. That's right, the World Wife Carrying Championships were held in Finland over the weekend, despite rainy conditions in the town of Sonkajarvi.

You can't help but love the concept of wife carrying: you don't want to carry a heavy woman around, but at the end you win her weight in beer, so she shouldn't be too light, either. The 2007 champions were again from Estonia, and they also won a plasma TV. They completed the 250 meter course in 61.7 seconds and you won't be surprised to learn that they used the Estonian position (woman hangs down the back with her knees over the man's shoulders). The other 43 couples who completed aren't losers ... only supreme athletes can be wife carriers, right? Get training now for '08.

Related Stories:
· Wife-Carrying Championships Around the Corner [Jaunted]
· Estonia Dominates Wife-Carrying Championship [Reuters]
· Finland Hotel Reviews [HotelChatter]

[Photo: Reuters]]]> amandak 2007-07-10T09:04:13-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/6/20/44830/4514

We still think it's kinda curious that Finland thinks all it has to offer in summer is weird events like cell phone throwing and wife carrying. But it seems to be enough to get the tourists in and the World Wife-Carrying Championships are coming round again, with the big hoist-up happening on July 7.

Now in case you've never considered carrying your wife around a 275-yard track as the ideal holiday activity (and don't worry if you don't have one--any woman over 17 will do) then you haven't read Stephen Bleach's blow-by-blow account of his own wife-carrying experience. From choosing the carrying style (fireman's lift, the Estonian, or the piggyback) through to navigating the water obstacle, there's a lot more to wife-carrying than meets the eye. And it's worth the training, because the winner receives ... wait for it ... his wife's weight in beer. For the record, Bleach and his wife came in 39th ... out of 40!

[Photo: jurvetson]

Related Stories:
· Finnish Tourist Board Will Use Wife-Carrying to Lure You In [Jaunted]
· Wife-Carrying Championships [Official Site]
· Hotels in Sweden [HotelChatter]]]> amandak 2007-06-20T08:54:23-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2005/7/7/103428/8302

Imagine for a second this is your life:

You wake up in your Malibu home, around 11am, and your phone is ringing.  You step over the sea of naked bodies, men and women leftover from a hard night of partying, and pick up your phone--it is your agent.

Your agent says:
"GoldenPalace.com want to pay you to compete in the annual Wife Carrying World Championships--don't worry about bringing your wife, you can borrow one when you get to Finland--she will be over 17 years old and around 110 pounds--now get your ass down to LAX, your flight is pre-paid."

You figure what the hell. Pack your bag and call a cab.

You fly all the way to Finland, and then you only run the last 100 meters? Come on Dennis, we were so with you until the cheating.

The ex-basketball star only participated in the final 100 meters of the 235 meter course saying that he was not ready for such a grueling course. In a post-event press conference, Rodman promised to train harder for next year's competition.

Such is life in the world of the worm.

Related Stories:
·   Dennis Rodman Crosses Line With Wife [Send2Press.com]

]]> markj 2005-07-07T10:34:28-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/