Woman Wins UK's Cheese Rolling Race After Being Knocked Unconscious During Chase

A woman won a unique but challenging sport in Gloucester despite being knocked unconscious. Hundreds of people had gathered near the UK city to watch the Coopers Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake race on Monday. The extreme sports competition draws competitors from all over the world to Gloucester each year. The main activity of this event is chasing a Double Gloucester cheese down the 200-yard-long slope. Video from the event showed 19-year-old Delaney Irving from Canada running down the hill along with other participants to chase the 3kg cheese wheel.

During the chase, Ms Irving fell down the almost-vertical Coopers Hill in Brockworth, near Gloucester.

Watch the video:

I got a top down view of Delaney Irving winning the #CheeseRolling event. Incase she doesn't remember it from being knocked out 🫠
Showing us how fearless these Canadians are 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/Nnpcn0Kfrj

— David Dawson (@DavidDawson__) May 29, 2023

The woman said she only realised she had won the women's race when she woke up in the medical tent.

"I remember running, then bumping my head, and then I woke up in the tent. I still don't really believe it, but it feels great," she told the BBC.

Ms Irving, from Vancouver Island in Canada, told the outlet that she was not angry or annoyed by what had happened, and said the race was "good... now that I remember it".

Several races were held over the day on May 29 and Matt Crolla, 28, from Manchester, won the first.

"I don't think you can train for it, can you? It's just being an idiot. I'm glad I'm pretty conscious and I've not got many serious injuries," he told The Guardian.

Another race was won by Ryoya Minami from Japan, who entered the race "because I love cheese".

The event was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid pandemic.