Fastest wife-carrying world championship winning time

What to remember

In 2000, Margo Uusorg and Birgit Ulrich won the wife-carrying world championship in 55.5 seconds, the fastest winning time in the event's history.

The idea is simple: a competitor races while carrying a partner, and the team with the fastest time over the route wins. Most teams pair a man carrying a woman, but there are generally no rules about gender or marital status. Several carrying styles are allowed: a classic piggyback, a fireman's carry over the shoulder, or the Estonian style, with the partner upside down on the carrier's back, legs over the neck and shoulders.

The sport, called eukonkanto in Finnish, was first introduced in 1992 in Sonkajärvi, Finland. At Finnish regional competitions, the first prize is usually the partner's weight in beer.