Ten years ago, Western Washington University decathlon athlete Cooper Cummings, 23, of Arlington, was not dreaming of fame for his track and field accomplishments.
Instead, it was another challenge of athleticism and determination that inspired him.
“I thought it was beautiful. I thought to myself, ‘I want to do this,” Cummings recalled.
In late May of this year, he stood atop a hill that bears his first name, full of beer and excitement, and accomplished his decadal dream.
That was the annual cheese roll competition in Gloucester, England. An annual event that dates back at least a couple centuries, it takes place on the very steep, 200-yard-long “Cooper’s Hill.”
Asked to describe the event, Cummings said: “It’s just a bunch of people hurling themselves down this really steep hill” after a 7-pound ball of cheese. There are three men’s races, one women’s race and one for children. There are no age limits in the adult bracket.
“It’s super unprofessional. It’s not sanctioned by anything, there’s no liability of injuries (that occur) every year. They’ve tried to cancel it so many times, but it continues,” Cummings said.
His years of planning culminated in just one strategy: “If you’re gonna fall, don’t fall forward, fall back.”
He remained on his feet for most of the race. At the very end, he rolled down the hill into victory.
On Saturday, the champion visited Napavine's Tumac Taproom to cut the cheese. The taproom is owned by the family of his girlfriend, Molly Olson, of Napavine, who he met in college.
In the packed bar, Napavine residents, the town’s mayor, friends, family of both Olson and Cummings, and strangers gathered to celebrate the Washingtonian’s triumph over the world-famous event.
Besides a scarf and two tickets to a Gloucester rugby game, Cummings took home bragging rights and a roll of the crumbly, slightly tart, savory, orange cheese. The trip was organized by Olson, who, upon her partner’s success, promptly texted her family with some expletives and joyful shock. The duo spent a week in Great Britain, Cummings said, with the cheese roll their main destination.
In the video of the competition, she can be seen running up to him for a kiss on the cheek as he sports Seahawks swag. He’s only the second American man to ever win the race.
The world-record holder of cheese rolling, Chris Anderson, has won about two dozen times in the last 27 years.
“A year ago, when I’m trying to decide if I was going to do it, he was said to have retired the year before. So, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m just going to go and have an easy race. I don’t have to compete against him,’” Cummings recalled. “Because he’s like the Tom Brady of cheese rolls.”
Instead of retiring, though, Anderson returned to Cooper’s Hill in 2023.
“It was the perfect experience,” Cummings said in Napavine on Saturday. “I just wanted to do it, but I ended up winning and beating back the all-time defending champ.”
The competition, including the race Cummings won, can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdKRx30s6sk.
