Newry (Maine): John Farra, a former Winter Olympian from Caribou who trained by running up a ski slope with 80 pounds of mortar mix, won the seventh annual North American Wife Carrying Championship on Saturday at Sunday River.
Farra's first-place finish earned him and his 110-pound wife Tess her weight in beer and five times her weight in cash, or $550. They also are eligible for a $1,000 reimbursement toward a trip to the world championships in Finland next July.
The Farras completed the 278-yard course, which includes a water trough and log hurdles, in one minute, six seconds in the critical heat and one minute, four seconds in the final.
Daniel Brown and Janel Worcester of Brewer were second, about 10 seconds behind, in the field of 27 couples.
Farra, who competed in cross-country ski races in the 1992 Games in Albertville, France, trained for the wife carry by running up a slope near his home each morning before work with 80 pounds of mortar mix in a backpack.
Several hundred spectators turned out for the competition during the height of western Maine's fall foliage season.
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