Lithuanian couple upsets host Finland in world ‘wife carrying’ championship

SONKAJARVI, Finland (AP) — A Lithuanian man and his wife have won the world 'wife carrying' title, leaping over timber and wading through waist-high water to beat dozens of other couples for a second year running.

Vytautas Kirkliauskas and his wife Neringa Kirkliauskiene cleared a grueling 253.5 meter (278-yard) obstacle course in 1 minute 6.72 seconds Saturday. That was just a tenth of a second ahead of former six-time world champion, Finland's Taisto Miettinen and his new partner Katja Kovanen.

Couples from over a dozen countries took part in the annual race in Sonkajarvi, 300 miles (480 kilometers) north of Helsinki, the capital.

Despite the event's name, couples don't have to be married, and organizers say male contestants could "steal a neighbor's wife" if they don't have a companion.