IShowSpeed unexpectedly found himself competing in Finland’s famous wife-carrying contest, known as Eukonkanto, during his trip on Monday (July 14).
Even though he joked about his back “killing” him—possibly from being set on fire in a sauna earlier in the stream—Speed still went through with the challenge. He carried his partner in the traditional Estonian-style hold, where the woman dangles upside down with her legs hooked around the man’s shoulders, allowing for more mobility.
When the race kicked off around the 3-hour, 49-minute mark of his stream, Speed instantly began to struggle under the weight, making for a hilarious and chaotic moment.
“Damn, this bitch heavy,” IShowSpeed shouted mid-run. “Damn, you heavy as fuck.”
Not long after, he wiped out on a soapy slip ’n slide tarp, dropping his partner in the process. While lying on the ground, he noticed other competitors crawling through the obstacle and tried to catch up—only to fall again.
“Man, fuck this shit, bro,” he said, abandoning his teammate and sprinting solo through the rest of the course, which included a small pool.
Despite the chaos, Speed was somehow crowned the winner and proudly declared, “I am now the wife-carrying world [champion].”
The real Wife-Carrying World Championship actually took place earlier this month—July 4 and 5—in Sonkajärvi, Finland, with over 200 participants from 18 countries, according to Euronews. The quirky contest, held annually since 1992, features a 253.5-meter course filled with sand, hurdles, and a water obstacle.
To win, men must carry female partners—who must be at least 17 years old but don’t need to be legally married—and the prize? The wife’s weight in beer.
This year’s actual champs were Caleb and Justine Roesler from the U.S., who set a new record of 1:01:17, per the event’s official site.
As for the competition’s roots, the Associated Press notes it traces back to a 19th-century Finnish tale about Ronkainen the Robber, a bandit who supposedly carried off stolen women on his back.
