Tokay High School graduate Greg Westin carries his wife, Melissa, during the World Wife-Carrying Championship in Sonkajärvi, Finland, on Saturday. The couple, who dressed up as a turtle for the event, celebrated their first wedding anniversary over the weekend. (Courtesy photo)

Tokay grad overcomes obstacles to celebrate anniversary with wife

When some couples hear the words "first anniversary," some think of romantic dinners, roses or his-and-hers jewelry. Greg Westin bypassed all that and instead went for "Wife dangling upside down."

On July 1, Westin, a Tokay High School graduate, and his wife, Melissa, entered the World Wife-Carrying Championship in Sonkajärvi, Finland.

To complete the 278-yard obstacle course, Melissa hung over her husband's back while he grabbed onto her legs and ran as fast as he could, all the while trying not to drop her on the asphalt track or submerge her head in any water obstacles along the way. All this, while wearing a yellow and green turtle costume.

"This just sounded too quirky and fun to pass up," Greg said by e-mail from Europe.

They were planning to go to Sweden to visit distant relatives and Norway to see friends' family members, and to see where Greg's ancestors came from. While looking through a Scandinavian guidebook, they came across an entry about amusing Finnish events, like a barrel-rolling contest. But it was the wife-carrying that really sounded irresistible. A 33-foot long, five-foot deep pool with two 2.5-foot hurdles made the obstacle course complete.

"Since we were married on July 3, and this event took place on July 1, it was just a happy coincidence that I got to carry her across the 'Finnish line' almost exactly a year after I carried her across the threshold," he said.

The origin of the wife-carrying contest of Sonkajärvi began in the late 1800s with the bandit Rosvo-Ronkainen, who recruited only those troops who could traverse a challenging track.

And stealing women from neighboring villages was a common practice. It's not certain whether Rosvo-Ronkainen was actually the leader of a woman-stealing gang.

Modern wife-carriers use one of the customary postures: The piggy-back; The Fireman's carry, "wife dangling upside down" (also called The Estonian) or they make up their own "Freestyle" position.

"Being such a funny — some might say ridiculous — event, the Wife Carrying Championship attracts a colorful cast of characters," Westin said.

Some of this year's competitors included: The world-record holder for swimming around the Rock of Gibraltar; the world mountain bike bog snorkeling champion; and the Finnish pro wrestling champion.

The competition is part beer festival and part costume party. There is a special "wife-carrying drink" and racers are encouraged to dress up.

Tokay High School graduate Greg Westin carries his wife, Melissa, through a water obstacle during the World Wife-Carrying Championship in Sonkajärvi, Finland, on Saturday.

The wrestling champ had his title belt and wore a caveman outfit. There were also the "American Indians with teepee," and a number of "flag costumes" — Singapore, the United States, and Britain.

After getting married last July, the Westins took time off their studies in Boston (with Greg preparing to apply to medical school, Melissa starting a Ph.D. program in history), and started their year-long honeymoon with a trip around the United States.

They visited family and friends, from Greg's hometown in California, to Melissa's in Michgan. Since leaving the country their "home base" has been Morocco, where they both served as teachers at the Casablanca American School.

By the end of their year-long adventure they will have seen 12 countries: Spain, Morocco, Turkey, Poland, Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Japan, Singapore and the Philippines.

First published: Monday, July 3, 2006