The world host many sports events and some of it we are not aware of. Among all, stands World Wife-Carrying Championship, which is held every year at the Finnish town of Sonkajarvi. The contest involves men carrying their female partners and ace the obstacle track in the fastest time. In the 2019 Wife-Carrying Championship that was held on July 6, 2019, a Lithuanian couple beat dozens of other contestants and winning this year’s title for the second consecutive time. A video shows the winning couple, racing a 253.5 meter (277 yards) obstacle course featuring a water trap in 1 minute and 6 seconds.

The World Wife-Carrying Championship 2019 was the 24th year and each event witness thousands of visitors in the town of only 4,000 inhabitants in central Finland. Beating two dozen contesting couple, Vytautas Kirkliauskas and his wife Neringa Kirkliauskiene achieved the top spot for the second straight year. The Lithuanian couple won the first place after defeating six-time champion Taisto Miettinen of Finland and his partner Katja Kovanen by the margins of 0.1 seconds.

Watch Video of World Wife-Carrying Championship 2019 

The Wife Carrying World Championships is held annually in Sonkajärvi, Finland, since 1992. The prize for the winning couple is the wife’s weight in beer. According to reports, couples travel from many countries, such as Australia, France and Germany to take part in the annual race in the central Finnish town. The woman participant has to be over 17 years and weigh at least 49 kg. Despite the event’s name, couples do not have to be married. Organisers say that men contestants could “steal a neighbour’s wife,” if they do not have a female partner.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 07, 2019 01:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).