Cheese Rolling

A regular at the cheese rolling event

Thousands gathered to see competitors racing 200 yards down the steep slope of Cooper's Hill near Brockworth in pursuit of the speeding 7lb double Gloucester.

In each of the four races some 20 men and women run, roll and somersault headlong down the hill in chaotic fashion.

Many of them walked away from the scene bleeding with cuts, bruises and very muddy clothes. Almost all of them were in euphoric mood having taken part in the age old event.

Padam Shreer won the first race

Winners of the big cheese!

The first race of the day was won by 20 year old Padam Shreer, who was there representing the Gurkhas. He had come with a group from the 1st Battalion of Royal Gurkha Rifles in order to raise money for the Gurkha Benevolent Fund.

The first race also saw a number of injuries. Stephen Brain, an 18 times winner of the race, broke his ankle about halfway down the hill and another competitor was knocked out - he had to be stretched from the hill by the medics.

Second race

The second race was won by former All Black rugby player and TV presenter Marc Ellis, who was delighted by his win but a little overwhelmed by the massive interest in the event. On winning the event, he said:

Former All Black rugby player Mark Ellis won

"Actually, I was pretty bloody nervous at the top there. It was a long way down. It was the most successful bloody cheese run in the world for me!"

Matthew Ridge, Marc's co-presenter on the New Zealand sports TV show, came in third.

Belgian football hero Leo Van Der Elst also took part in the second men's race but he didn't finish in the top three. Nevertheless he got a special commemorative cheese for his effort!

Dione Carter, winner of the 2004 women's race

A day for Kiwis

The women's race was won by another Kiwi. 24 year old Dione Carter from Auckland charged down the hill and was first to cross the winning line. She was overjoyed at winning the 9lb Double Gloucester cheese and revealed the secret of her success:

"I had a few drinks before the event and it obviously boosted the confidence if you know what I mean!"

Cheese rolling has quickly turned into multinational event with victorious competitors coming from all over the globe. Amongst the overseas winners were Jo Stratton (third placed winner in the women's event) from Vancouver, Canada and Khaqendra Gurung from Nepal, who won one of the uphill races.

Aaron Walden upheld local pride

Local pride

Aaron Walden from Gloucestershire managed to salvage some local pride by winning the final race of the day.

He beat his uncle, Stephen Glyde, who currently holds the record number of cheese race wins - he's won the event an incredible 21 times over the past 14 years.

A great day out at Cooper's Hill

The event has been held on the hill for the past 200 years and is believed to date back to Roman times. These days though, cheese rolling is a truly multinational event with winners coming from all over the globe.

It's still a risky endeavour to undertake though because this year there had been five major injuries including a broken ankle, concussion and a dislocated shoulder.

A further 16 people suffered minor injuries whilst others walked away with cuts and bruises. Most were in jubilant mood despite their injuries.

It was a great day out and everyone seemed to enjoy the event. Organiser Richard Jeffries said:

"It went very well indeed. There were a couple of injuries in the first race and one man broke his ankle.

"I think there were 2,000 to 3,000 people here. We are pleased as it was cancelled last year."

One thing's for certain - there will be another lot of brave souls next year who will be more than willing to chase that 9lb chunk of Double Gloucester down the hill!

Watch videos of two of the races from the 2004 Cheese Rolling event at the top right of this page!