Couples from 13 countries have gathered in a remote Finnish village to compete for the wife-carrying world title.

All corners of the globe were represented - including Kenya, Australia and Canada - but Estonia reigned supreme.

Alar Voogla sprinted home in just over one minute to win the Baltic country's 11th title, with Kirsti Viltrop clinging upside-down to his back.

Germany took away the silver and England the bronze, while the hosting Finns had to do with a win for the 100-metre sprint, organised as a side-competition to the world-known event.

While some competitors are nearly professional athletes, others do it for fun or as a hobby.

Some 5,000 people came to view the event, set deep in forests and lakes a couple of hours drive from the Arctic Circle.

The contest is rooted in the legend of Ronkainen the Robber, said in the 19th century to have tested aspiring members of his gang by forcing them to lug sacks of grain or live swine over a similar course.

It also purportedly stems from an even earlier tribal practice of wife-stealing, in honour of which many contestants now take up the challenge with someone else's wife.

It has also inspired others to organise events such as sauna sitting, swamp football, cell phone throwing or karaoke singing. All are part of a summer bonanza of events that rake in visitors and cash for as long as the midnight sun shines.

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