A 21-year-old recent graduate from North Carolina just became the 2022 women’s cheese rolling world champion.
Abby Lampe found online fame overnight after winning the women’s division of the 2022 Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake near Gloucester, England, on Sunday.
The annual cheese-chasing competition, which draws international participants and spectators, is purportedly based on an ancient tradition associated with either claiming grazing rights or a fertility ritual.
The contest involves players rolling a wheel of cheese down a hill and then chasing after it, often resulting in them falling over and tumbling down. The player who catches the cheese wheel the fastest wins and keeps the cheese as a prize.
Lampe won after rolling her cheese down a 200-yard hill and catching it in about 15 seconds. She took her prize cheese wheel to a local pub after the event to celebrate her victory.
Clips of her winning downhill tumble emerged online the next day and have since gone viral on social media platforms.
According to Lampe, she joined the cheese rolling competition as she happened to be traveling around Europe.
“I love doing competitions, especially ones that are obscure—I’ve done the Krispy Kreme Challenge [where participants eat a dozen donuts halfway through a five-mile race],” she told Sports Illustrated. “I’m just a very competitive person. I grew up very competitive, and I knew this was something interesting and one of a kind, so I really wanted to participate and contribute to such an event.”
She explained how she rolled down hills before leaving the U.S. to ”figure out the best way to roll down a hill.”
“I thought it was fun and all, but like, in comparison to Cooper’s Hill, it was lightweight,” she explained. “There was no comparison. So I actually watched hours of film in the week leading up to the cheese race. Because I wanted to understand their strategies and where they started from and how they rolled.”
Lampe sustained a few bruises on her left leg and some minor scratches on her face. The champ noted that she is planning a cheese unveiling with her family upon her return to the U.S. on Aug. 31.
Featured Image via NC State ISE
