Watch loose dog win relay race at Utah high school track meet. ‘Best anchor leg ever’
A four-legged sprinter stole the show in a captivating finish of a track and field meet Saturday in Utah.
Runners from Logan High School’s 4x200 meter relay team had a commanding lead down the stretch of their heat at the Grizzly Invitational when their anchor runner was met by a speedy challenger.
A dog is seen breaking loose from its ownernear the final turn, then immediately passing the second-, third- and fourth-place runners. The dog sprinted to catch up with Gracie Laney, who was surprised to find out she had a competitor at her heels.
“At first, I thought it was another runner and I was surprised because we had a pretty good lead,” Laney told KSL. “As it got closer, I thought, ‘That’s too small to be a person,’ and then I noticed it was a dog.’”
The crowd erupted in a roar as the dog passed Laney at the finish line, nearly tripping her in the process. Laney said the finish “happened so fast.”
Track and field website MileSplit described the dog’s run as the “best anchor leg ever.”
Logan High School still won its heat with a time of 1 minute, 59.27 seconds.
Kate Heywood, a junior runner for Murray High School, said she was warming up for her own race when her dog, Holly, got loose from her parents.
Holly ran the final 100 meters of the race in about 10.5 seconds. That’s only about 1 second behind Usain Bolt’s world-record mark from the 2009 World Championships.
The speedy dog sometimes runs with Heywood, but the high schooler said Holly often maxes out at about five miles.
Social media users marveled at Holly’s pace during her sprint and the roaring finish to the race.
“Dog knew what it was doing,” one Instagram user said. “You saw the way he looked at her when he caught up. That’s Air Bud’s cousin.”
“Slowed down to look right at her before crossing the line too, absolutely ruthless,” one user said.
Laney, who ran in the meet’s 200 meter dash without a challenge from a dog, also commented on Instagram.
“Lol I can’t believe I got beat by a dog,” she wrote.
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