The centuries-old tradition of wife-carrying continues to gain traction

Couples go to extremes in wife-carrying contest

By Taryn Plumb GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Chris and Sarah Nelson of Berlin, Mass.

NEWRY, MAINE — Turn by turn, the competitors queued up at the starting line.

“Racers ready!” The cry boomed from a sound system on the mountain, which was teeming with spectators.

“Saddle up!”

“3-2-1!”

The men rocketed up a rugged obstacle course, navigating over boulders, traversing through mud, and wading through thigh-deep water.

The runners also had to ensure that the women they were carrying on their backs like backpacks did not fall off, wipe out, or otherwise get hurt.

Such is the delicate balancing act of the quirky sport of wife carrying, a challenge that 50 couples — including five with Massachusetts ties — defiantly took on earlier this month during the 15^th North American Wife Carrying Championship at the Sunday River ski resort.

The Massachusetts men whose wives – or girlfriends – were literally in tow were Braintree residents Christian Carlsson and Tuyet Nguyen; Chris and Sarah Nelson of Berlin; Jeff and Kelly Lyons of Melrose; Wenham nativeJohnLund and his Austrian partner, Stefanie Weisseisen; and Mark and Tricia Bouchea of Newburyport.

Jesse Wall of South Paris, Maine, carried 96½-pound Christine Arsenault to victory, finishing in 1 minute, 4 seconds. Their prize? Arsenault’s weight in beer and five times her weight in cash.

“It’s a neat thing to do,” said Carlsson, 36, who hefted his wife, Nguyen, 33, along the 278-yard course and placed 10th. “A new challenge.”

The sport’s origins can actually be traced to kidnapping: Notorious 19th-century Finnish thief Herkko Rosvo-Ronkainen made potential recruits to his gang prove their worth and strength by whisking women away from neighboring villages.

But wife-carrying is much more than slinging a woman over your shoulder and taking off into a run. Although there are many positions, most competitors use what is known as an “Estonian hold,” in which the woman — legs crossed in front of the man’s face — hangs upside-down, facing his back.

The sport’s world championships are held annually in Finland — the 20th is scheduled for July 3-4, 2015 — but the mirthful tradition also has spread to other countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, and Estonia.

“It’s a sport that’s really growing,” said Lund, 37.

Lund has participated in the Sunday River event with various partners since 2001, and the world championships since 2005. He also has done wife-carrying tutorials on German TV and created short films about his sport of choice.

Competitors in the international events, he said, are much more dedicated to eccentricity, with people dressing up in whimsical and often outlandish costumes.

Which explains his look at Sunday River: As music spilled out of a nearby tent and onlookers angled for views around the course, Lund struck an imposing figure: Standing 6 foot 5 inches tall, he was clad all in black, with shoulder pads adorned with fake spikes and an eerie skull mask covering his head. His girlfriend, Weisseisen, was similarly attired, with a studded collar and a fake sword. (The pair placed 13th.)

In the past, Lund has dressed as what he called “super wife-carrying man,” pulling off a stunt in which he miraculously changes from Clark Kent conservative into red-and-blue Spandex and cape,then “saves” his Lois Lane partner when she falls into a pool of water.

“It’s a wacky way to express yourself,” he said. It comes down to “how seriously does somebody want to take these events? The most important element is the fun element. If you can win, it’s that much better.”

For many who participate, winning isn’t everything.

“I grew up in Maine, and thought it would be a great way to celebrate our first wedding anniversary,” said Chris Nelson, 28, of Berlin, a small town near Marlborough.

His wife, Sarah, 29, set herself apart with a mismatched pair of turquoise and orange socks.

The couple finished 23d.

The Nelsons got in shape for their second wife-carrying contest with hill runs and by hopping a fence in their yard. As for next year, they’ve “already started training.”

The Boucheas of Newburyport — Mark, 41, and Tricia, 38 — were newbies who ended up “in the middle of the pack,” said Tricia (26th place, with a finish time of 1:57).

“I just tried to keep balance and shift the way he was shifting so that I didn’t throw us off,” she said. “I think the wife definitely has the easier part of the job.”

Nguyen agreed, although she noted that there is more technique involved for the passenger than she expected.

She contracts her core muscles while her husband runs, “so that I’m not flimsy, which could cause imbalance,” she said, “and any laughter, flatus, nausea. or vomiting should be held back until after the race.”

A big setback this year for many of the runners was a rather steep uphill climb right out of the

gate.

“It doesn’t look that bad, but after 10 to 15 seconds of that with your wife on your back, you get tired,” Carlsson said. “I hit the wall a lot quicker than I thought I would.”

Of the competitive sort, Carlsson was a little disappointed at placing 10th, compared with a fourth-place finish in 2011.

Like Lund and Weisseisen, Carlsson and Nguyen also embraced the costume element, he in a kilt and she wearing lederhosen, traditional Bavarian shorts with H-shaped suspenders. Nguyen said that next year she can improve her results by “better hiding all the KitKats, candy corn, and Rolos from Christian...I’m running out of hiding places in my kitchen.” “You can definitely tell we are a few years older,” Carlsson joked. “I’m gonna keep it up until I get on the podium.”

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