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They carry their wives, sit on ants, throw milking stools, boots and mobile phones, here in the home of weird world championships, participants will do just about anything to win their offbeat crowns.
Normally reserved Finns say there is no better way to celebrate the short summer months than with contests that add a jolt of adrenaline and silliness to bright summer nights. "Maybe we are a little bit crazy ... maybe we are just bored," said Toni Hautamakix, a sauna-championship spectator from Oulu.
With foreign visitors growing by about 6 percent in 2007 and many oddball competitions taking place in distant rural areas, Finland's funny business is also a spur for tourism.
Most of the 50 or so competitions that take place over the three summer months, many billed grandly as world championships, started at summer fairs or village affairs.
But today the top competitions can each attract about 10,000 people to the Nordic country annually to watch or join in, staggering across hurdles with their spouses clinging to their backs or diving headlong into ponds of mud after a soccer ball.
Some events are so popular, swamp soccer, wife-carrying and air guitar, they have prompted other nations to hold their own contests to select who will compete in Finland.
Portuguese Olympic cross-country skier Danny Silva said these events bring out the best in the usually sombre Finns, letting them goof off, dress up, and poke fun at themselves.
Silva, who was taking his first stab at swamp soccer in July, said it would have taken a great marketing effort to make such a competition succeed in his hometown.
"Portuguese players like all the glamour, perfume, look all nice, and here people just get down and get dirty," he said. Many of the events allow top athletes to add extra oomph and fun to their workouts. They also let them show off their "sisu", the Finnish version of perseverance and guts.
Finnish cross-country skiers use swamp soccer to train in the snowless summer months. Both work the same muscles, but slogging through a mud-soaked field adds an element of fun.
(Agencies)
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這里正舉辦各種怪異的世界錦標賽——背老婆、坐蟻穴、扔擠奶桶、扔靴子、擲手機，參賽選手們個個躍躍欲試，爭當“搞怪”冠軍。
在平日較為保守的芬蘭人看來，沒有什么方式比舉辦這些新奇有趣的比賽來歡度他們短暫的極晝夏日時光更為美妙了。來自奧盧市、觀看桑拿浴大賽的托尼?豪塔邁科斯說：“可能我們有點瘋狂，可能是我們厭倦了漫長的冬日?！?/font>
去年到芬蘭旅游的外國游客數量增長了約6%，而且不少賽事在偏遠的農村舉行，所以芬蘭的“搞怪業”同時也推動了當地旅游業的發展。
約50項賽事集中在夏季三個月舉行，其中大多數比賽在夏游會或村游會上開幕。很多賽事還被宣傳為“世界錦標賽”。
而如今，一項熱門比賽每年能吸引約一萬觀眾前來觀看或參賽，你會看到參賽選手們背著老婆步履蹣跚地過關或者在泥沼足球賽中跳進泥沼池中奮力搶球。
泥沼足球、背老婆和空氣吉他等一些比賽廣受歡迎，因此這些項目的參賽選手們不得不先在各自的國家參加選拔賽。
葡萄牙奧運越野滑雪選手丹尼?席爾瓦說，這些新奇的比賽激發出了芬蘭人的熱情，這些長期籠罩在陰郁（冬日）里的人們打扮一新，自娛自樂，輕松愉快。
席爾瓦參加了7月舉行的泥沼足球大賽，他說，如果要在葡萄牙成功推廣這樣的賽事，可得費一番工夫。
他說：“葡萄牙人講究衣冠整齊，外表動人，而這里的人們卻不怕摸爬滾打，弄臟衣服。”很多比賽允許選手們在比賽中加入“性感”和“趣味”的元素，同時還鼓勵選手們比出自己的毅力和膽量（芬蘭語：sisu）。
芬蘭越野滑雪運動員在夏季主要借助泥沼足球來進行體格訓練，這樣不僅鍛煉了肌肉，同時還收獲了快樂。
（英語點津姍姍編輯） |
