Love your wife? Willing to take her to the ends of the Earth? Try this for a start: carry them over sand, grass and asphalt. And the place to do it is the City of Monona, Wisconsin during the annual Fourth of July Festival. Other than the usual art fair, entertainment tent, carnival, Tastes of Monona, the Monona Community Festival also features the Wife Carrying competition, a handy, if somewhat difficult way of proving your ability to support your spouse through thick and thin!
This bizarre contest has its origins in the 19th century, when the area now known as Finland was rife with brigands who indulged in- besides looting, - the equally questionable practice of abducting local women. Not too many people are keen on taking on the law by abducting their neighbors wives any more, but the Monona Wife Carrying Championship tries to recreate the heat of the chase- although in this instance the spouse need not necessarily be your own. In fact, she need not even be a married woman; In further fact the carried need not even be a female - hey, it is Dane County - anyone over the age of 21 will do.
Contestants are expected to carry the other, secured to them by nothing more than a belt (if needed), over a 253.5 meter stretch, with various obstacles en route and in front of the judging eyes your friends, family and neighbors. Just like at home! Dropping your precious load incurs a penalty of 15 seconds, but if you manage to be the first to reach the finish line, you get to take home the grand prize: the weight of the person carried in beer! What do they gain from this abuse? How about five dollars per pound of body weight!

2009 Wifecarry Results

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