A young competitor throws a moble phone at the annual Mobile Phone Throwing World Championship in Savonlinna, Eastern Finland in 2004. Anyone wanting to throw away their mobile phone can do it in style and may even win a medal -- at the Mobile Phone Throwing World Championship, Finland's latest contribution to offbeat athleticism. Originally a local event in a small town close to the Russian border, the seventh annual contest Saturday drew some 100 throwers from as far afield as Canada, Russia and Belgium. Founder Christine Lund describes the event as a good source of light exercise with an environmentally friendly twist . "There are a lot of mobile phones on the second-hand market, and we are recycling them (before they become toxic waste)," she said. The inventive Finns had already given the world the Sauna World Championships and the Wife Carrying Competition before coming up with a new way to make mobile phones even more mobile. This year's gold medal went to Finland's Lassi Etelatalo, who flung a scrapped Nokia unit a forceful 89.00 meters. "I prepared by javelin throwin g, I haven't really practiced throwing mobile phones," Etelatalo said. In the freestyle event, Dutchman Elie Rugthoven's phone landed outside the designated area, but he still won silver thanks to a phone juggling performance that impressed the judges. Lund says competitors all have their favorite throwing brand. "People choose by size, by color or by how it fits in the hand ... Some believe a heavy model will ensure a long throw, some want a light one."

近日，芬兰举行了一场别开生面的“扔手机世界锦标赛”，想扔掉手机的人可以来此一试，如果扔得有创意，还可能赢得奖牌。 这项一年一度的比赛发源于俄罗斯边境附近的一个小镇，上周六开幕的第七届扔手机世锦赛吸引了从加拿大、俄罗斯和比利时远道而来的约100名选手。 比赛创始人克里斯廷·兰德说，这项比赛既是一项轻度锻炼，同时也是一个环保之道。她说，“二手市场上有很多手机，（在它们变成有毒废物之前），我们对它们进行再利用。” 除了扔手机比赛，善于发明创造的芬兰人还举办过“桑拿世锦赛”和“背老婆比赛”。 本届扔手机世锦赛的金牌得主是芬兰选手拉西·埃泰莱塔罗，他将一只废弃的诺基亚手机扔出89米远，他说：“准备比赛期间，我并没有练习扔手机，而是练了掷标枪。” 在自由式项目中，荷兰选手埃里·莱格多芬将手机扔出了指定区域，但最终他以出色的手机杂耍表演打动了评委，赢得一枚银牌。 兰德说，每个参赛选手都有自己最喜欢扔的手机品牌。“他们根据大小、颜色以及是否‘合手’等因素来选择手机，有的选手认为，重的手机能扔的远，而有些人则更青睐较轻的手机。”