爱沙尼亚人最会背媳妇

　　Estonians Unstoppable In Wife-carrying Championships

　　An Estonian couple have beaten 22 couples from six countries to win the 2003 Wife-carrying World Championships.

　　Margo Uusorg and Egle Soll cleared the 253.5 metre track, leaping over timber and wading through waist-high water, in just over a minute to capture the title for a third consecutive year. Contestants travelled from Denmark, England, the US and Ireland for the annual event in Finland. Margo Uusorg's younger brother, Madis, and his partner Ivi Loomets finished second. Organiser Hannu Keranen said: "We managed to set up a really challenging course this year." Some 8,000 spectators watched the event in the small town of Sonkajarvi.

　　The contestants don't have be husband and wife, any man and woman can compete. The Estonians introduced the efficient style of carrying their partners upside down over their backs in 1998, and have dominated the event since, winning every contest. Estonian dominance has been so much that organisers this year set up a separate "classic" category with a stricter set of rules. The classic rules require that the woman be carried piggyback, and that she be wedded to the man carrying her. The classic category was also won by an Estonian couple, Jaanus and Anneli Undrest, with a time of 1 minute, 12.27 seconds.

　　The popularity of wife-carrying has surprised even the organisers. "At first we developed this just as a show number for the local fair and thought we'd only use it for a couple of years. But it was so popular that we've kept it going," said municipal director Simo Mkinen.

　　According to local legend, the contest dates back to the 1800s when a local bully challenged other men in the village to prove their worth by carrying their wives through an obstacle course. The contest was revived in this new form in 1992 and has been held every year since.

　　一对爱沙尼亚夫妇在由来自6个国家的23对夫妇参加的2003年世界“背媳妇大赛”中脱颖而出，夺得第一名。

　　马高·由索和伊高·索尔一路狂奔253.5米，跑过独木桥和齐腰深的水池，以1分钟多一点的成绩成功卫冕，第三次夺得这项比赛的冠军。马高的弟弟和弟媳则获得了第二名。

　　参赛选手分别来自爱沙尼亚、丹麦、英国、美国、爱尔兰和芬兰。比赛并没有硬性要求参赛者一定已经结婚，只要是一男一女组合就可以参加比赛。参赛者可以背，可以抱，总之，他们可以选取自己认为最好的方式带着他们的搭档完成比赛。不过，今年的比赛与往年相比增加了一个规则相对严格的传统组别：女选手都要被放进一个箩筐里，由男选手背着。这个组别的冠军同样被一对爱沙尼亚夫妇夺得。

　　传说这项比赛起源于古时候，那时，当地男人如果要娶媳妇，先要以这种方式比过其他男人，证明他可以带着妻子闯过困难。从1992年开始，人们把这项古代“选婿”活动变成了一项趣味比赛，并每年举行一次。

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