Frenchman crowned air guitar champion once again

Sylvain "Gunther Love" Quimene of France won the annual Air Guitar World Championships for the second time in a row late Friday, the event's organisers in Finland said.

"Last year's World Champion Sylvain 'Gunther Love' Quimene gave once again a stunning performance and took the highest crown back to France," they said in a statement.

Quimene wowed judges with his imaginary guitar renditions, performed wearing nothing but sunglasses and shiny, tight, gold-coloured trousers.

The 29-year-old Frenchman danced and lip-synched in front of a crowd of up to 8,000 air guitar fans gathered in the northern Finnish town of Oulu.

His compatriot Soraya "Eva Gina Runner" Garleng won second place, while Canada's Cole "Johnny Utah" Manson, described by organisers as a "retiring champion," placed third.

Air guitarists taking part in the competition had to 'perform' a 60-second song of their own choice - by pretending to play rock or heavy metal without an actual instrument.

Jimi Hendrix's Foxy Lady was the mandatory song for the 10 contestants who made it to the second round.

A jury then awarded marks to each performer based on the choice of music, stage presence, technical merit and artistic impression.

The Air Guitar World Championships are just one of a number of silly summer games that take place in Finland each year, including the Wife-Carrying World Championships, the Mobile Phone Throwing Championships, as well as the Mosquito Swatting, Sauna Sitting, Boot Throwing and Swamp Soccer championships.

The first ever Air Guitar World Championships took place in Oulu in 1996.

Organisers say the championship's objective is to promote world peace.

A video of Gunther Love's performance can be seen at http://www.airguitarworldchampionships.com/