芬兰举行背老婆世锦赛 上届冠军成功卫冕

Finland continued to reign in the world wife-carrying championships on Saturday as Taisto Miettinen sprinted fastest along 253-metres (832-feet) track, carrying Kristiina Haapanen upside-down on his back.

The couple, who also won the world championship title last year, finished the race in one minute and five seconds.

Estonia's Alar Voogle and Kristi Viltrop tripped in the water obstacle and were second some five seconds behind the winners.

Finns Ilpo Haalisto and Satu Juurinen got bronze.

The winning couple trained together throughout the year.

"Before I have been a lot of in a gym, but nowadays I have run a lot and that is the secret," Miettinen said after the race in hot and sunny conditions.

The race, held for the 15th time attracted 55 couples from 15 countries, including Australia, Ireland and Poland, to compete in the remote eastern Finnish village of Sonkajarvi, some 485 kilometers (302 miles) northeast of the capital Helsinki.

The wife-carrying competition has its roots in alegend of Ronkainen the Robber and his gang who lived in the forests and stole food and girls from villages.

一年一度的背老婆世界锦标赛于上周六举行，芬兰人在本届比赛中再度夺冠。当天，一个名叫泰斯托．米耶蒂宁的男子倒扛着他的妻子克丽斯蒂娜．哈帕宁，以最快的速度跑完了253米（832英尺）的比赛全程。

这对上届比赛的卫冕冠军在本次比赛中用时1分零5秒完成了比赛。

来自爱沙尼亚的艾拉．弗苟和克丽斯提．维尔特洛普夫妇在水障碍区中绊倒，以5秒之差屈居第二。

芬兰人伊尔坡．哈里斯托和萨图．尤瑞宁获得铜牌。

泰斯托．米耶蒂宁和克丽斯蒂娜．哈帕宁这一年来一直在一起训练。

比赛当天艳阳高照，十分炎热。米耶蒂宁在赛后说：“之前我常去健身房，但现在我经常跑步，这就是我获胜的秘诀。”

背老婆世锦赛至今已举办第十五届，此次比赛吸引了来自15个国家的55对夫妇参加，其中包括澳大利亚、爱尔兰和波兰。比赛在芬兰东部偏僻的松卡耶尔维村庄举行，该村庄位于首都赫尔辛基东北部约485公里（302英里）处。

背老婆比赛源于芬兰的一个“强盗龙凯宁”传说。龙凯宁和他的同伙们住在森林里，从附近的村庄偷食物，抢姑娘。

Vocabulary:

trip: 绊倒

legend of Ronkainen the Robber: 传说一位名叫龙卡伊宁的芬兰强盗在松卡耶尔维一带招兵买马，聚啸山林。为了招到体格健壮的部下，他想出了一个独特的招数：在一条道路上设置各种障碍，让所有应征者背着一袋玉米或者一头活猪越过障碍，合格者才能被留下。也有说法是这项赛事来自古老部落的一种“偷妻”风俗，当地男人如果要娶媳妇，先要以这种方式与其他男人比赛，以此证明他可以带着妻子闯过难关。