Finland's wife-carrying contests are now famed the world over, but what kind of championship is there for single people? Naturally the Finns have something for everyone, so we're keen on the Sauna World Championships which have just wound up for 2008.
Held every year in Heinola, southern Finland, the Sauna Championships are open to all, and the winner is the person who can stay for longest inside a steamy room. Sounds easy, right? Plus we've heard that hanging out at the sauna is a great way to pick up a girl or a guy.
But this kind of sauna-sitting might not be so relaxing. This year's male winner, Bjarne Hermansson, sat in a 230 degree box for 18 minutes and 15 seconds, admitting that there was "slightly more pain than pleasure." The female winner only lasted for five minutes and 21 seconds, so we figure, female Jaunted readers, start practicing now and by the 2009 championships we could have our own sauna-sitting winner.
Last year, the champion wife carriers in that ever-more-famous event in Finland, the World Wife Carrying Championships, came out of Estonia, again. But if the wife carriers from the opposite end of the world--Australia--have anything to do with it this year, they'll be looking to knock the Estonians out of top place.
Tomorrow is the Australian Wife Carrying Titles, the national contest to decide who can go to Finland. If you're traveling through New South Wales, and end up near Singleton, a couple of hours north of Sydney, then do drop by to watch the wife carriers in action.
Apparently, most of the successful Aussie wife carriers will be using the Estonian carrying technique. It has the wife's legs over her husband's shoulders and her body hanging down his back--not very flattering, but effective. Finland's World Wife Carrying Championships will be held on July 5 this year so book your tickets to the host town of Sonkajärvi now.
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.
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!
Fearing that the Santa connection appeals only to children, and the Finnair panda connection is, well, too unrealistic for anyone over 3' tall, Finland's tourist board will now entice you to visit by touting its many strange festivals and contests. Events such as the World Cell Phone Throwing Championships and Wife Carrying World Championships are how Finns celebrate summer and the sunlight it provides.
Additional events include air guitar, a Sex Festival, and a wintertime contest, the peculiar "topless winter jogging" (for which we haven't been able to find any additional information). Also, in case you were wondering, 2007 "might be the best year for sauna competition ever." Judging from the pictures on the Sauna World Championships website, we'd say no year might be the best year for sauna competition.
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.
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by amandak
