11th Wife-Carrying World Championships
Excerpts from my article for the St. Edmund Hall Magazine 2006
On 1 July 2006, Xin-Hui Chan, a 2nd year medical student at the Hall, and her partner PJ Thum of Hertford College became the first Singaporeans and Oxford students to participate in the Wife-Carrying World Championships in Sonkajarvi, Finland. The pair completed the course in a time of 1 minute and 37.7 seconds, beating teams from Australia, Estonia, Finland, Britain, France and Germany to emerge Australian/Asian Champions and 29th overall.
The Sport of Wife-Carrying
Wife-carrying as a sport is unique to Sonkajarvi - its origins date to the 1800s, where there was said to be a local brigand called Rosvo-Ronkainen who accepted as troops only men who had proven their worth on the wife-carrying track. In those days, it was common practice to steal women from neighbouring villages for such manly purposes.
The 'wife' to be carried can be the male partner's very own, the neighbour's or one found farther afield; she must, however, be over 17 years of age. Apart from age restrictions, she has to weigh a minimum of 49 kg. Should she weigh any less, she is burdened with a heavy rucksack such that the total weight of her and the rucksack is 49 kg.
The winners receive the equivalent of the wife's weight in beer.
The Finnish see this sport as the embodiment of an attitude towards life. Wife-carrying, according to them, calls for physical and mental endurance in equal measure. Other essential ingredients are a good sense of rhythm, sure-footedness - and a robust sense of humour. Even the rules of the competition support this, stating that all competitors should have fun. The Finns describe their philosophy best:
"Wives and wife-carriers are not afraid of challenges or burdens, pushing their way persistently forward, holding tightly with a twinkle in their eyes"
Seeking a 'Wife'
PJ first came across the sport of wife-carrying in a 2005 article by ESPN journalist Jim Caple. Interest piqued, further reading about the philosophy of the sport strengthened his desire to participate in the 2006 World Championships. What he needed next, was to find a woman with the gumption and endurance to withstand the demands of training and competition.
Several months later, he chanced upon a fellow Singaporean in Oxford - Xin-Hui, a medic who had spent her summer volunteering in a village rural Kenya, and despite illness, had managed to go on to climb the highest mountain on the African continent, Mt. Kilimanjaro. Not only did she appear to possess the tenacity for such an endeavour, she was small enough to be carried with relative ease.
They recognised a mutual spirit of adventure and excitement in each other, and partnered for a hitchhike from Oxford to Morocco for charity in April 2006. Shortly after that, preparations began for the Wife-Carrying Championships.
Training
Things looked promising as the competition edged closer - they had refined their position to achieve synchronised motion and creative sartorial additions were beginning to reduce the number of bruises they sustained at the end of each combined training session. Two days before they were due to leave for Finland, on their final round around the Iffley track, PJ felt a sudden shearing pain across his knee. It was a worried pair that departed for Helsinki on 28 June.
The Competition
After resting injuries for a day after arrival, it was back to training for both of them. The day before the competition, they attempted the water hazard for the first time. The ambient temperature that day was 17 degrees, the water far colder. PJ lost his footing in the water, falling backwards with Xin-Hui on his back. Xin-Hui plunged headfirst into the water, and unable to bear the cold, passed out. Her distraught partner fished her out. To make matters worse, his cruciate ligament injury began to flare up again. They ended their training session, uncertain whether they would be able to compete the following day.
The day arrived with PJ's knee showing few signs of improvement. As they nervously warmed up by the starting line, the results of the draw for their heats were announced: they were to be pitted against the North American Champions, Ehrin and April Armstrong - it was going to be tough, but they were definitely not going to go down without a fight. They fell behind in the initial stretch, but their practice on the water hazard paid off as PJ passed through it with ease and caught up on the Americans. It was close down the middle straight with the crowd roaring in excitement. However, Ehrin's height and longer legs proved an advantage as he passed over the obstacles with greater ease to pull away and win decisively. PJ and Xin-Hui went on to finish in their best time ever of 1 minute and 37.7 seconds.
Xin-Hui is proud to have been granted the opportunity to carry on the Hall traditions of sporting endeavour and a subtle appreciation of good old-fashioned fun.
Floreat Aula!
