Maine couple wins wife-carrying championship

[October 12, 2009]  NEWRY, Maine (AP) -- A Maine couple has taken the crown in the North American Wife Carrying Championship over a course that featured a muddy water hole and two log obstacles.

Dave and Lacey Castro of Lewiston came in first among 41 teams to win Saturday's competition at Sunday River ski resort in Newry. They covered the 278-yard course in 54.45 seconds.

For their effort, the couple won 97-pound Lacey Castro's weight in beer and five times her weight in cash -- $485.

Teams from 11 states competed in the 10th annual race in which a man has to carry a woman, or vice versa, over an obstacle course.

As the North American champs, the Castros are eligible to compete in the world championships in Finland next July.

[Associated Press]

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