North American Wife Carrying Contest in Maine

ByABC News
July 10, 2000, 3:02 PM

B E T H E L, Maine, July 10 -- Not since residents built Angus, theworlds tallest snowman, has an event created such anticipation.

This ski town, which has a reputation for oddball events thatattract publicity, is hosting the debut of the North AmericanWife-Carrying Championships, a 278-yard obstacle course which a manmust traverse while carrying a woman.

Carrying methods include traditional piggyback, the firemanscarry or something called the Estonian carry, said PaulaWheeler, director of development for the Mahoosuc Arts Council, theevents sponsor.

Race Has Finnish Ties

The skys the limit on this one, Wheeler said.

As of today, 17 teams were registered from Maine,Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Oklahoma andPennsylvania, she said. Those contestants include bodybuilders andtriathletes.

The race is based on a similar event held in Sankajarva,Finland, and the rules are loose.

During the competition, each team will consist of a man andhis wife, who can be his actual wife, someone elses wife or awoman who is no ones wife, Wheeler said.

If a contestant has trouble finding a partner, organizers havelocated at least one woman willing to be carried.

Non-Traditional Races

There will also be a Non-Traditional Wife Carrying Competitionfor the wife who wants to carry her husband, or the partners whowant to carry their partners. All participants must be 18 years ofage or older, she said.

Wheeler also was the chief organizer behind Bethels effort tocreate, Angus, King of the Mountain, a 113-foot-tall snowman that residents say broke the world record for tallest snowman in1999.

The snowman made national headlines, but the wife-carryingcontest seems to be even bigger, Wheeler said.

The event will be covered by the BBC-TV from England, a radiostation in Spain, the New England Sports Network, Runners World,ESPN, Good Morning America and Dateline NBC, she said.