Cheese Wheels or Sacks of Wool: The UK Enjoys Quirky Races
On May 27, brave competitors took part in one of Britain's most extreme annual events: cheese rolling.
Cheered by several thousand spectators, racers chased 3-kilogram wheels of Double Gloucester cheese down the near-vertical Cooper's Hill, near Gloucester in southwest England. The first racer to finish behind the fast-rolling cheese in each race gets to keep it.
The races have been held at Cooper's Hill, about 160 kilometers west of London, since at least 1826, and the sport of cheese-rolling is believed to be much older.
The event often comes with safety concerns. Few competitors manage to stay on their feet all the way down the 180-meter hill.
This year, the hill was especially muddy after recent rain. Members of a local rugby club lined up at the bottom to catch the tumbling competitors.
Tom Kopke from Munich, Germany won one of the three men's races. He said attitude was more important than technique.
"You start and then the adrenaline takes over and you just go, go go," Kopke said.
"Look at this event, look at this hill," added the muddy winner. "England is mad. I love it."
Local competitor Josh Shepherd and Dylan Twiss from Perth, Australia won the other two men's downhill races. Abby Lampe from North Carolina won the women's race with a roll that left other competitors far behind.
"You just have to roll," said Lampe, who also won in 2022. "There's a little bit of pain, but it's just going to be temporary."
Children and adults also competed in safer and slower uphill versions of the race, which are traditionally held on a late-May national holiday.
Meanwhile, about 32 kilometers away in the town of Tetbury, competitors carried sacks of wool weighing up to 27 kilograms over a 220-meter course up and down steep Gumstool Hill.
The Tetbury Woolsack Races have been held since 1972, drawing on a local tradition dating back to the 17th century in the historic wool-trading town.
