North American Wife Carrying Contest in Maine

By
ABC News
January 7, 2006, 8:21 AM ET
2 min read

B E T H E L, Maine, July 10, 2000 -- — Not since residents built “Angus,” theworld’s 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 fireman’scarry or something called the “Estonian carry,” said PaulaWheeler, director of development for the Mahoosuc Arts Council, theevent’s sponsor.

Race Has Finnish Ties

“The sky’s 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 else’s wife or awoman who is no one’s 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 Bethel’s 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.

Wheeler said the quirky stunts have helped seal the community’sreputation as a place to have fun. “It would be a good thing to beknown for, I guess — trying the outlandish and making it work,” she said.