Eukonkanto — World Married Portion Championships

The festival

The world champion is going back with the weight of his partner... in beer. In Sonkajärvi, one runs by carrying his partner on 253.5 meters of obstacle track — water crossing about 1 m deep, logs, sand — all timed, with 15 seconds penalty if the litter falls. The person carried must weigh at least 49 kg, the ballast obligatory below, and the carrying "to the estonian", the partner hanged head down on the shoulders, became the star technique.

Created in 1992, these world championships are inspired by the legend of the bander Herkko Rosvo-Ronkainen, whose band was said to be marauding grain, and sometimes women from the villages.

The official Saturday program sets the tone: the authentic local market of Sonkajärvi from 10 am, the world championships of Tonkkumi, the team race at 1 pm, the great competition parade at 2.45 pm, and the world championship at 3 pm, precise at the Eukonkanto Arena — before the awards ceremony at 5.30 pm and the big festive evening until 2 am. The day before, on Friday, the sprint race opens at 7 pm on the weekend, followed by the opening evening.

In 2025, the championships were held for the 28th time, ahead of about 2,000 spectators and a record number of more than 200 participants from 18 countries — with, for the first time, a women's category: gold was first set in the United States, with Caleb Roesler and Justine Roesler, winners in 1 min 01.17 s — new record of the race — ahead of Lithuanians Vytautas Kirkliauskas and Neringa Kirkliauskiene and Finns Taisto Miettinen and Katja Kovanen, multiple world champions. In 2026, the legend regained its rights: at 61, Taisto Miettinen won his ninth world title, still with Katja Kovanen, ahead of about 2,500 spectators.

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The festival in images

Official photos of the festival, published on its official website eukonkanto.fi.

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To see around the festival

Sonkajärvi is a small town in northern Savonia, a country of a thousand lakes. Before or after the championships, three nearby getaways tell deep Finland: its forges, its forests and its wild paths. Discover the places in detail

• The forges of Jyrkkäkoski (Jyrkän Ruukki) — east of Sonkajärvi: a blast furnace founded in 1831 on the edge of the rapids, now a museum of forges, protected heritage site, with Ruukin Tupa café.
• The Volokinpolku Trail — 30 km of wild path from the forges: Uranholi gorge, Holinmäki hill and Hankalampi bird observation tower, Natura 2000 area.
• The Talaskangas Nature Reserve — forest and marshes remained almost in natural condition, at the border of Savonia and Kainuu.