‘Wrong sport': Fans floored by hurdler's epic recovery after fall
And supporters joked she has chosen the wrong sport.
Brooklyn Anderson of Thurston High School lined up in the Track Town USA Girls 5A 100m hurdles final at the track and field championships in Oregon.
And she opened up a commanding lead across the first nine hurdles in lane four.
However, disaster appeared to strike at the tenth and final jump.
Some of her rivals were yet to make the ninth hurdle when she took off for the last time.
But Anderson clattered into the hurdle and despite her best effort, could not keep her footing.
Instead, she crashed to the track as her rivals closed in on her.
It looked for the world as though Anderson's dreams of victory had been shattered.
But then came her moment of sheer genius inspiration.
Anderson's quick thinking saw her take the fall in her stride and produce the smoothest forward roll somersault on the track within her lane.
However, when she finished the roll she was still a couple of metres short of the line.
So Anderson did another full somersault to roll over the line – just in front of her nearest challenger in the next lane who had cut the gap.
Incredibly, Anderson still crossed the line in a rapid 14.93 seconds to claim victory.
The champion said: 'I wasn't sure how far back everyone else was behind me.
'I just knew I had to keep rolling to keep going, because I wanted to get first.'
And fans flooded social media with adoration for her superb feat of spontaneity.
One fan joked: 'Brooklyn Anderson was so far ahead, she could trip, do two somersaults, stop for a smoothie, update her LinkedIn, and still cross the finish line before anyone else even realised the race had started. Now that's disrespectfully fast!
Another said: 'Champion mentality.'
And a third commented: 'The double rolly polly finish, think this sprinter has chosen the wrong sport – gymnastics.'
But one user later explained that Anderson was indeed a former gymnast – hence the acrobatic expertise.
He wrote: 'Well deserved.
'Brooklyn Anderson, a former gymnast, had a strong lead when she clipped her knee on the last hurdle.
'Thanks to her quick thinking, Anderson decided to somersault through the finish line, barely beating the competition.'
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