Hilarious and Grueling Wife-Carrying Tradition Returns to Maine Ski Resort

by admin in RSS Social News. Posted October 12, 2026

As snow graced the highest peaks out West over the weekend, Sunday River, Maine, was hosting a different sort of pre-season tradition.

Husbands, carrying their wives, raced through a grueling obstacle course in hopes of securing the grand prize: the wife’s weight in beer and five times her weight in cash. This was Sunday River’s 27th Annual North American Wife Carrying Championship.

(In case you were wondering, the rules do account for the fact that it’s the 21st century: Competing couples neither have to be married, nor must they include a man and a woman. However, same sex couples can’t qualify for Worlds based on Worlds rules—yes, there are wife-carrying Worlds.)

This year, a record 58 couples turned up, with Kim and Ben Haapapuro taking the win. For their grit, they netted seven cases of beer, just over six hundred dollars, and a spot at the World Championship in Finland next summer. They competed under the cute moniker Haapapuroply Ever After.

According to Sunday River, the legend of competitive wife-carrying started with Finnish lore: it became a sport as a result of men stealing wives from neighboring villages as a means to prove their worth and strength to famed henchman Herkko Ronkainen, also known as Ronkainen the Robber. The toughest men who could carry stolen wives through the undulating Finnish wilderness earned a ticket to Ronkainen’s gang.

Sunday River’s take on the matter is built to “international specifications” and spans 278 yards. It includes a log hurdle, a sand dune, and one water obstacle that, fittingly, is often referred to as the “widow maker.” The carrying style isn’t mandated, but most couples opt for the “Estonian” approach with the wife’s thighs on the man’s shoulders, similar to an upside-down piggyback ride. Helmets are not required but often used, Sunday River noted.

Now, here’s a look inside the action.