Finn breaks Olympic record with phone

A Finnish teenager has smashed the world record - and probably his phone - in this year’s annual mobile-phone throwing contest in Finland. Eighteen-year-old Ere Karjalainen launched a phone the “amazing” distance of 101.46 metres (332 feet 10 inches), Finnish public television network YLE said after Saturday’s event. Not that the skills are totally comparable, but he bettered the gold medal javelin throw at the London Olympics by nearly 17 metres. Karjalainen beat around 50 contestants, including some who had travelled from England and India. Second place went to South African Jeremy Gallop, who threw a phone 94.67 metres. According to contest organisers, the competition offers mobile phone users a unique opportunity to “pay back all the frustrations and disappointments caused by these modern equipments.” Finland, the home of Nokia, is awash in obsolete phones, organisers said. The event has been held in the southeastern town of Savonlinna since 2000. The annual contest is one of many offbeat events such as wife-carrying that are held in the summer when normally reserved Finns like to celebrate the warmer weather with silliness and outdoor sport. From : Gulftoday