Ava, the Londoner, claimed the 2025 women’s cheese-rolling race on Cooper’s Hill by tumbling headlong down 200 meters—despite disliking cheese. The event’s chaos, dust, and costumes made her win a surreal spectacle. “I just held my head and went for it,” she confessed, upending tradition in this eccentric UK festival.

Cheese-rolling champion Ava’s headlong tactic left crowds gasping, but her open cheese aversion set her apart from past victors. Thrill-seekers and media captured every stumble of the annual Gloucestershire spectacle, where winning a Double Gloucester wheel rarely means loving the prize. “I don’t even eat it!” Ava joked after the race.

Cooper’s Hill cheese-rolling draws thousands yearly—winners often suffer bruises, but glory rarely involves eating the cheese.