Finnish duo win wacky wife-carrying race

A pair from Finland has won one of the country's most unusual contests.

Dozens of people braved murky weather to take part in the UK Wife Carrying Race, now in its 17th year.

The race - originating in the Nordic region - requires contestants to carry their wives, husbands, partners, friends or family members up and down a hill in Dorking, Surrey.

Finns Teemu and Jatta were crowned the 2026 champions on Sunday, winning a barrel of local ale.

Runners had to dodge obstacles, including rows of hay bales, on the 380-metre course on the Nower.

They were also splashed with water pistols and buckets by spectators.

Participants can carry their "wife" however they like, but many chose the so-called Estonian hold, where the other person hangs upside-down on the runner's back with their legs crossed in front of the runner's face.

"It's certainly chaotic," said Ian Giles, UK race director ahead of the contest.

"I don't want to drop my girlfriend on her head," added the defending UK champion Stuart Johnson before Sunday.

He said the first time he and his partner Hattie Cronin, who are both from Woking, practiced in a local park people thought they were "bonkers".

Cronin added Stuart had signed them up for their first race before asking her.

Wife carrying reportedly links back to the Viking pillage of Lindisfarne in the UK.

Its sporting roots are in Finland, where the first world championships took place in 1996.

Husbands carry their wives in the traditional Nordic version, though the British race, organised by Leith Hill Trail Runners, allows people to carry anyone.

But it is recommended they weigh less than the runner.

Those carried must weigh at least 50kg, though anyone underweight can wear a rucksack filled with tins of flour, water or similar to reach the minimum.

Wife-carrying contests have happened around the world, including in the United States, India and Germany.

The UK race began in 2008.

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