1
00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:07,560
Speaker 1: On this episode of Sports Illustrated Weekly, SI staff writer

2
00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:10,600
Speaker 1: Emma Bato, Larry takes us to Gloucester, England, where we

3
00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:13,840
Speaker 1: follow a young woman from North Carolina and a round

4
00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:27,920
Speaker 1: of double Gloucester cheese down Cooper's Hill. So the Cooper

5
00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,560
Speaker 1: Hill Cheese Roll is an event that has happened in Gloucestershire,

6
00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:35,720
Speaker 1: England for a long time, almost two years in its

7
00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:39,760
Speaker 1: current organized form, but even further back as a more

8
00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:44,199
Speaker 1: freewheeling general cheese rolling event, and it is exactly what

9
00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:46,800
Speaker 1: it sounds like. It is rolling a large wheel of

10
00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:49,640
Speaker 1: cheese down a very large hill with a bunch of

11
00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,360
Speaker 1: people chasing after it, trying to be the first one

12
00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,040
Speaker 1: to make it down the hill and win their prize,

13
00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,160
Speaker 1: which is the wheel of cheese. So the wheel of

14
00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:00,960
Speaker 1: cheese that you win is actually when you're chasing actor.

15
00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,600
Speaker 1: So this actually has been a development in recent years.

16
00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:07,880
Speaker 1: Originally it was the same we love cheese, but now

17
00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,520
Speaker 1: so as not to make sure that what you're winning

18
00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:13,320
Speaker 1: is like damaged goods, the wheel of cheese you get

19
00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:16,120
Speaker 1: to take home is a separate, safer wheel of cheese

20
00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:18,240
Speaker 1: that has not been thrown down a giant, muddy hill,

21
00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:20,639
Speaker 1: but it is still a nine pound wheel of cheese.

22
00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:24,360
Speaker 1: And the cheese role is a big deal because they

23
00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:27,120
Speaker 1: haven't had one since the pandemic. Yes, this was the

24
00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:33,120
Speaker 1: first one in two years. Irth Carolina, I got here

25
00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:37,640
Speaker 1: the cheese rice. I grew up very competitive and I

26
00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:40,800
Speaker 1: knew this was something interesting in one of the cold

27
00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:44,880
Speaker 1: so I really wanted to participate and contribute to such

28
00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:47,640
Speaker 1: an event. So we haven't had a cheese role in

29
00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:49,720
Speaker 1: a few years. It's a big deal to have the

30
00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:52,920
Speaker 1: competition again. Tell us what's so special about the women's

31
00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,760
Speaker 1: cheese role. Champion for two Abby Lampi is a twenty

32
00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:59,800
Speaker 1: one year old recent graduate of NC State whose deeply

33
00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:03,520
Speaker 1: can petitive and loves interesting sports. She'd seen the race

34
00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:06,320
Speaker 1: on YouTube and was very excited to potentially go when

35
00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:10,239
Speaker 1: she was studying abroad in Europe. However, the pandemic sent

36
00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:12,480
Speaker 1: her home early, robbing her of her chance to witness

37
00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:14,440
Speaker 1: the cheese role, and when she decided to make a

38
00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:18,080
Speaker 1: trip back to Europe this summer after graduating, not just

39
00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:20,560
Speaker 1: attending the cheese role but participating was on the top

40
00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,120
Speaker 1: of her list. How does someone even prepare for an

41
00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,800
Speaker 1: event like this? Yes, I loved her answer to this

42
00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:29,920
Speaker 1: question because when I had asked if she'd prepared it,

43
00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,000
Speaker 1: it felt kind of silly asking that, because how does

44
00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:34,880
Speaker 1: one prepare to roll down a hill to chase some cheese?

45
00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,760
Speaker 1: Before lest the US, I went to do the ASICs Park,

46
00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:42,720
Speaker 1: which is the local park by rally, and I rolled

47
00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:45,560
Speaker 1: down some hills final figure out the best way to

48
00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,200
Speaker 1: roll down a hill that was fun at all, but

49
00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:53,680
Speaker 1: like in comparison to Cooper's Hill, it was lightweight. And

50
00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:57,120
Speaker 1: then once she got to Gloucestershire, she went to the

51
00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,160
Speaker 1: actual hill that the cheese role is held on a

52
00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,680
Speaker 1: few days in advance and realized the cell was a

53
00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:06,360
Speaker 1: lot bigger, there were more variable she was going to

54
00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:08,560
Speaker 1: have to consider, and she did a few practice runs there.

55
00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:13,160
Speaker 1: So I actually watched a lot of slow early videos

56
00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:16,920
Speaker 1: which she's like the raining champion for the women's grades.

57
00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:21,399
Speaker 1: She's one four times. But I learned like a lot

58
00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,560
Speaker 1: of it you can't really control. I mean, it looks

59
00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,040
Speaker 1: like a pretty chaotic event when you're watching it on video.

60
00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:29,280
Speaker 1: It's just it's a ton of people rolling down a

61
00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:33,560
Speaker 1: hill after some cheese, muddy grasses flying everywhere. It's physical,

62
00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:36,480
Speaker 1: people are running into each other, they're physically getting beat

63
00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:39,560
Speaker 1: up by the terrain of the hill, and it sounds

64
00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,120
Speaker 1: like in her experience it was exactly as chaotic as

65
00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:44,440
Speaker 1: it looks. Just you know, it's hard to be aware

66
00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:47,280
Speaker 1: of how many people are close to you, who's behind you,

67
00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:51,200
Speaker 1: are you ahead. It just sounds like it's really lost

68
00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:53,000
Speaker 1: in the fog of war there until you make it

69
00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:57,240
Speaker 1: to the bottom. But Abby didn't get too badly hurt, right, No,

70
00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:02,520
Speaker 1: she was okay. Some scratches, some a few bruises, but she,

71
00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:05,520
Speaker 1: with her very successful role, was able to come out

72
00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:09,560
Speaker 1: mostly unscathed, which is somewhat unusual for this event. I

73
00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:12,600
Speaker 1: have a few breezes on my left leg and like

74
00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:15,640
Speaker 1: maybe one scratch, and then I have a couple of scratches,

75
00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:19,440
Speaker 1: like very minor scratches on my face because I kind

76
00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:25,600
Speaker 1: of like ate it there because dirt in my actually,

77
00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,479
Speaker 1: but now I'm don't work the way honestly. And they've

78
00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:35,200
Speaker 1: had people in the passing means concussions, cracked ribs, all

79
00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:37,400
Speaker 1: matter of injuries, and this year there was in the

80
00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:39,840
Speaker 1: mentory someone who they originally thought had broken his leg.

81
00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,960
Speaker 1: So it's dangerous stuff, and part of that is because

82
00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:47,960
Speaker 1: how steep the hill itself actually is. Yeah, this is

83
00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:51,600
Speaker 1: a massive hill, both in terms of the steepness and

84
00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:54,960
Speaker 1: the grade you're talking about and just the actual amount

85
00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,800
Speaker 1: of ground you're covering. It's a very big hill. So

86
00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:00,120
Speaker 1: it sounds like Abby had to overcome a lot to

87
00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,400
Speaker 1: become this year's women's champion. What was the experience like

88
00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:07,160
Speaker 1: of actually winning? She got to accept her cheese from

89
00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:11,840
Speaker 1: the all time best women's cheese roller Flow Early, who's

90
00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,599
Speaker 1: a four time champion who won in twenty nineteen, the

91
00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,080
Speaker 1: last time it was held before the pandemic um. So

92
00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:19,760
Speaker 1: kind of a really cool full circle moment there to

93
00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:23,200
Speaker 1: accept the cheese from a story champion like that. And

94
00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:25,520
Speaker 1: she's got to have some kind of a plan for

95
00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:28,360
Speaker 1: that nine pound wheel of cheese, right, Yes, of course

96
00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:30,400
Speaker 1: I was really curious about that. I wasn't sure like

97
00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:32,720
Speaker 1: if I want a prize like that, a nine pound

98
00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:34,839
Speaker 1: wheel of cheese, Like do you want to preserve it? Is?

99
00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:37,040
Speaker 1: Is it okay to eat it right away? You know?

100
00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:39,600
Speaker 1: How do you figure out what you're going to do?

101
00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:42,440
Speaker 1: But she has shipped it back to North Carolina and

102
00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:45,160
Speaker 1: she is planning on having a very lovely sheracuterie board

103
00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:48,320
Speaker 1: when she gets back. We're gonna do it. She's unveiling

104
00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:51,080
Speaker 1: with my family when I get back. I don't get

105
00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:54,359
Speaker 1: back until August thirty, so it's gonna be a little

106
00:05:54,400 --> 00:06:02,880
Speaker 1: wait for the cheese. Thanks for listening, and a reminder

107
00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:05,440
Speaker 1: to please rate and review our show. It helps people

108
00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:12,279
Speaker 1: find us. Sports Illustrated Weekly is a production of Sports

109
00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:15,640
Speaker 1: Illustrated and I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my

110
00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:19,000
Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

111
00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:22,080
Speaker 1: or wherever you get your favorite shows. And for more

112
00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:25,080
Speaker 1: of Sports Illustrated It's best stories and podcast visit SI

113
00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:29,360
Speaker 1: dot com. This episode of Sports Illustrated Weekly was produced

114
00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:33,880
Speaker 1: by Jessica your Moskui, Jordan Rozsieri that's me, and Isaac Lee,

115
00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,320
Speaker 1: who was also our sound engineer. Our senior producer is

116
00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:41,680
Speaker 1: Dan Bluom. Our executive producers are Scott Brody and John Gonzalez.

117
00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:45,640
Speaker 1: Our theme song is by Nolan Schneider. If you stuck

118
00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:54,960
Speaker 1: around this long, we leave you with this. Let's going

119
00:06:54,960 --> 00:07:01,760
Speaker 1: back to North Carolina. Put your white job the FUSSI