趣闻:第一届爱尔兰背老婆大赛

Several wives and girlfriends got dumped on their heads and a few more were thoroughly drenched Saturday during the first UK and Ireland Wife-Carrying Championships.
数名老婆和女友被撞得头晕脑胀，还有几位则被湿得像落汤鸡一样，这就是第一届英国——爱尔兰背老婆大赛。

Northern Irish students Aaron Moisson and Clara Hawthawn-Cole won the title and will go on to compete in the world championships in Finland.
北爱尔兰的学生阿伦·莫瓦森和克拉拉·霍索恩-科尔一举夺魁，他们将继续参加在芬兰举办得世界背老婆大赛。

Eight couples--only three of them actually husband and wife--battled it out through four heats and a final around an obstacle course which included a water jump.
共有八对情侣参加了角逐，其中仅三对为货真价实得夫妻。他们经历了四轮预赛和一场决赛，突破了赛道上的重重障碍，包括跳跃水池等。

Three types of carrying were permitted: piggyback, fireman's lift and the curious Estonian-style where the wife hangs upside down with her legs around the husband's shoulders, holding tight to his waist.
参赛者可以用三种方式“背老婆”：肩骑式、背负式以及奇特得爱沙尼亚式。最后一种是指妻子双腿倒挂在丈夫的肩头，双手紧抱住他的腰。

The winning couple used the Estonian technique and completed the 240-metre (260-yard) course in 1.38 seconds.
冠军获得者正是采用了这一技巧，以138秒的成绩完成了240米长的赛程。

"We are really very pleased to have won. I didn't get dropped once and Aaron was very, very steady," said Hawthawn-Cole.
霍索恩-科尔说：“我们真的很开心能够赢得冠军。我一次都没有掉下来，阿伦也跑得非常非常稳。”

"It was good fun and we are already looking forward to going to Finland."
“比赛很有意思，我们已经迫不及待地想去芬兰了。”

Meanwhile Moisson was in no doubt which of the alternative prizes on offer he would be claiming--100 pounds or his partner's weight in beer.
与此同时，莫瓦森毫不犹豫地在大赛提供的奖品中——100英镑或者与他的搭档体重相当的啤酒——做出了选择。

"I am a student--I think you know what I will be going for. I fancy a few pints tonight," he said, disclosing that his partner weighed a few kilogrammes over the competition minimum of 50 kilos.
“我是个学生——我想你明白我会选哪个。我今晚就想喝上几杯。”他还透露，他的搭档比大赛要求的最低体重50千克稍重几许。

The sport is popular in North America, Australia and Finland.
这一运动风靡北美、澳大利亚和芬兰等地。