An Australian daredevil has risked serious injury by winning one of Gloucestershire’s historic and world-famous annual cheese rolling races, after making a hair-raising prediction about the event before leaving Australia.
Hundreds of people gathered on Cooper’s Hill, near Brockworth, in the Cotswolds region of south-west England, to witness the event, which is believed to have its roots in a pagan festival to celebrate the return of spring.
Competitors chase a 3kg Double Gloucester cheese as it rolls down a steep 180 meter hill. Many stumble and fall as they move, and serious injuries are not uncommon.
The steep slope means the event is not for the faint-hearted, and the cheese can reach speeds of up to 110km/h, with the first racer to catch it crowned the winner.
Perth competitor Dylan Twiss won the second men’s downhill event, suffering a nasty cut to his leg in the process that required stitches.
Perth man Dylan Twiss (pictured) won the second men’s downhill event of the day.
“I was trying to stay upright,” Twiss said afterward.
‘Then I started rolling, so I had to keep going.
“Every time I found my feet were on the ground, I took a couple more steps.”
Twiss first heard about the event while he was with his friends in Australia and decided then to take a shot at the title.
“I told them, ‘I’m going to do that and, to top it all off, I’m going to win it,'” he told Nine’s Today show.
When asked why he took part in the event, Twiss replied: “It’s taking something that’s quite silly, incredibly serious, which is a great British trait, and I think Australians are good at stepping it up too.”
Twiss said some people train for the event, but that wasn’t their focus.
“People train, but most of (their preparation) comes from a lifetime of pushing myself a little beyond my athletic limits and falling a lot, so you get good at it,” he smiled.
The first men’s race was won by Germany’s Tom Kopke, who told the BBC he was “excited” and would return next year to defend his title.
Kopke, who runs his own YouTube channel, said: “I love this event and it’s crazy.” The day before I went cliff jumping and I’m all for these crazy events.
“I promised my grandmother I would give it to her, so she will get the cheese.”
Many competitors trip and fall down the very steep hill while chasing the cheese wheel, and serious injuries are not uncommon.
The steep slope means the event is not for the faint-hearted and the cheese can reach incredible speeds.
American YouTuber and rapper Speedy, or IShowSpeed, placed fourth in this year’s rolling cheese event, but was injured on the downhill.
He vowed to try again at next year’s event, proclaiming that “now he knows how to win.”
Brockworth’s Josh Shepherd won the third men’s race of the day and told the BBC he had to “bring it home to Brockworth”.
Competitor Ollie, who was wearing a gorilla costume, lost his head and feet on the descent and jokingly compared the challenge to yoga.
At 1:00 p.m. there was a false start in the women’s race, where participants began to fall down the hill, but there was no rolled cheese.
But after a minor hiccup, the women’s race was won by North Carolina’s Abby Lampe, who took home the trophy for the second time following her 2022 victory.
Tewkesbury Borough Council’s Safety Advisory Group raised concerns, saying last year’s event put pressure on emergency services after several people suffered injuries.
Organizers cleared the hill for stones, rocks, brambles and other potential hazards for today’s event, but couldn’t guarantee they had cleared everything.
Participants do not need to register online or pay a huge entry fee to participate.
Deputy Chief Constable Arman Mathieson of Gloucestershire Police said the event is a “unique tradition and we have no desire to stop it”.
But police had a duty to inform the public that the council’s safety group had declared it unsafe.
“Those who intend to go should consider the risk they are taking,” he said.
The Safety Advisory Group said it has made “numerous attempts” to engage with organizers, but they have not shared how they plan to keep people safe this year.
Gravity does most of the hard work, as competitors race and fall down the steep slope.
Hundreds of competitors attended this year’s event.
The group, which is made up of several agencies, said they were concerned about how emergency services could respond if a major incident occurred, after ambulances struggled to access the site in 2023.
The winner of last year’s women’s race was knocked unconscious at the finish line and only discovered she had won when she woke up in a medical tent.
Despite annual warnings about the event, people travel from all over the world to attend.
There are several races and the rules are simple: get to the bottom of the hill first.
Gravity does most of the hard work, as competitors run (or in most cases fall) down the hill.
Volunteers are ready to help catch runners at the bottom, but injuries are almost inevitable.
