Cheese Rolling competition won by an American woman.

An American woman has won the Gloucestershire cheese rolling competition for the second time as thousands gathered to watch the race.

Abby Lampe told us that she spent around $2,000 dollars to travel to the UK, but that the sweet and cheesy taste of victory was worth it.

The cheese roll, which dates back to at least the 1800s, was ran by people from across the world in all sorts of outfits and attended by crowds which organisers approximated were between five and six thousand.

“I just was just making progress through my face and tumbling down the hill,” said Abby.

When asked for tactics, she told us: “Roll like the cheese, be like the cheese.”

Jem Wakeman, the Master of Ceremonies, used to compete when he was younger.

“I didn’t win any races but I did spend a week in hospital with a concussion, broke my shoulder, and broke a bone in my foot.

“When we were younger all of the local youths would compete but as the years have gone on less younger people have been doing it.

“It has become more international now.”

Competitors came from as far and wide as Australia, the United States, Spain, Germany, Poland, and Austria, with YouTuber and streamer Speed also in attendance.

Several competitors dressed up for the occasion.

We saw one man compete in a budgie smuggler whilst another told us that he was wearing a gorilla costume for “padding”. 

Competitors ran, rolled, slid, tumbled, and faceplanted their way down Cooper’s hill, which has a gradient as steep as one in two at points. 

The winners commonly finish the race in just over 12 seconds.

The race is notoriously dangerous.

Chris Anderson, the race’s record winner with 23 cheesy titles, said: “The worst injuries are normally broken arms or legs.

“We’ve had two people who have broken vertebrae in their necks but neither ended up paralysed.”

There were no serious injuries this year according to the team of medics and volunteers on the hill after the event.

They put this down to the softer terrain after heavy rain in the preceding days.

Abby told us that she will be posting her prize, the wheel of double gloucester cheese that she chased down the hill, back to the USA.

“It’s quite pungent.

“You have to pair it with something like a pear jam.

“It’s probably not for everyone, just like chasing a cheese down a hill.”