World Sauna Championships

[Wonk]

HEINOLA, Finland (AP) -- Braving 230-degree heat, a dozen men and women sweated in wooden cubicles Saturday as long as they could stand it, aiming to grab the Sauna World Championship title in southern Finland.

With a time of 13 minutes under the watch of doctors and judges, Belorussian Natalia Trifanova won the Sauna Queen title, beating out local favorite Annikki Peltonen.

"I'm pink but happy," said Trifanova, 36, a music teacher from Minsk, beaming despite red blotches on her neck and arms. "I got a lot of satisfaction sitting in there today. It's an extreme sport for me."

Runner-up Peltonen, last year's winner, reeled out of the wooden sauna 12 seconds before the champion. A team of stewards saved her from collapsing to the ground.

The men's winner, Timo Kaukonen, a Finn from nearby Lahti, lasted 16 minutes, 15 seconds. He beat three-time champion Leo Pusa from the capital, Helsinki, by seven seconds.

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