English runner is 3-time pancake race winner in US
LIBERAL, Kansas (AP) — An English runner won the 65th annual Shrove Tuesday pancake race, which pits two towns in the U.S. and England against each other.
Devon Byrne, 20, of Olney, England, covered the 415-yard (meter) course in 55.61 seconds to defeat Summer Parsons, who won the U.S. leg of the race in Liberal, Kansas. It was Byrne's third win in a row, The Leader and Times in Kansas reported.
Olney and Liberal women in aprons and head scarves run the course with a pancake in their pan. Race rules require the contestants to flip their pancake at the beginning and end of the race.
Shrove Tuesday is traditionally the last day before the start of the 40 days of Lent that lead to Easter. According to legend, the Olney race started in 1445 when a harried housewife arrived at church on Shrove Tuesday still clutching her frying pan with a pancake in it.
Liberal challenged Olney in 1950 after seeing photos of the race in a magazine.
Liberal leads the competition with 36 wins to Olney's 28. One year's score was disqualified.
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Information from: High Plains Daily Leader, Liberal, Kan., http://www.highplainsleader.com
