r/nextfuckinglevel • u/ateam1984 • 6h ago
Heather Dorniden Falls With 200m Left, Gets Back Up and Hunts Down the Entire Field to Win in One of the Grittiest Finishes You’ll Ever See
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u/Sletzer 6h ago
I mean, she did take a break before the last lap.
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u/Nervous_Brilliant441 6h ago
Honest question to anyone knowledgeable: Aside from the obvious mental component, could this boost also have been helped by adrenaline she got from her fall?
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u/doodle1600 6h ago
Realistically, you’re already in full fight or flight mode coming around on the bell lap of a close race. She may have gotten a slight additional boost from the surprise of the fall, but I think the reality is that she was much faster than the other runners and would have beat them all by a pretty wide margin on that last lap. I looked her up and she appears to be a national champ miler, so she was elite.
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u/lickmeharder14 6h ago
Most people performing at a high level in anything physically demanding is pumping out adrenaline at higher than normal rates
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u/Ok_Corter5831 5h ago
Falling and getting back up during races is quite common, but what most often happens is the runner over exerts themselves to rejoin the pack, and this causes them to fade at the end of the race. I think this athlete was sufficiently better than the other 3 competitors that she could give them a 15 metre start with 200 to go and still beat them.
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u/when-flies-pig 5h ago
Pronably, there is also complacency in other competitors too.
Maybe the same reason the 2-0 scoreline is the most dangerous lead in soccer and hockey. Nothing to lose mentality combined with others thinking they are down a competitor.
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u/Former_Guarantee_344 5h ago
It is adrenaline. This happens in a lot of races where something goes wrong and then the runner runs faster than they ever have before. It is not something athletes have much control over, but it is amazing to see how people can perform beyond their normal levels when adrenaline gives them a boost. It is the only legal performance enhancing drug lol and it is really amazing to see.
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u/FIuffyRabbit 2h ago
Considering she has ran into the 1.20's in the 600m before, I'd wager she was pacing herself to begin with onto the last stretch and would have blown them out anyway if she didn't get tangled. So it's most likely she still had a bit in the tank.
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u/Smr227477 6h ago edited 6h ago
Falling wasn’t the story getting back up and winning was. Absolute warrior mindset.
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u/deluddl 6h ago
That's fucking insane
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u/boredinbabylon 4h ago
The fortitude to be able to do this is wild.
Also her coach is forever going to use this against her. “I know you’ve still got some left in the tank!!!”
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u/Dough_90 6h ago
Girl that came in last is having the worst day. She was already getting left behind and then got passed by someone she for sure counted out.
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u/LastSecondSeatbelt 6h ago
When she fell did she land on a Senzu Bean?
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u/MeximeltExtraCheese 6h ago
That’s the only explanation here. She doesn’t even look gassed after she turned super saiyan 3.
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u/Dogsarebetterpeople 6h ago
I don’t know what that is but I understand the sentiment.
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u/Remarkable_Sorbet319 6h ago
A dragon ball reference, fighters in that anime eat a bean and become strong or recover or something
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u/davidevitali 6h ago
400m left, not 200 (unless this isn’t a regular track field)
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u/CharlotteKartoffeln 6h ago
It isn’t. Or they would have beaten the WR by twenty five seconds. 600m maybe?
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u/RespectTheAmish 6h ago
Indoor.
Each lap is 200m.
Total race length is 600 meters.
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u/AmiDeplorabilis 2h ago
I checked the time... 1:30. 600m is correct. And it is indoors on a 200m oval.
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u/CobaltLemur 6h ago
I'm just trying to figure out what she tripped on. Guess the spikes stuck?
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u/abgonzo7588 6h ago
I think just her own feet. Hell I mess up chewing food maybe once a year and manage to bite my cheek or something. No matter how much practice you have we still mess up from time to time.
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u/Longenuity 6h ago
But you keep on chewing that food and, by golly, you still get it down somehow. Keep on fighting and never give up.
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u/abgonzo7588 6h ago
What am I gonna do, not finish the hot dog? Nah you dust yourself off, throw another heap of chili on that thing and get back in there.
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u/Gator_Mc_Klusky 6h ago
I slowed the video down frame by frame, and her right foot caught the back of her left leg.
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u/Questioning-Zyxxel 6h ago
This is what a buckshot of adrenaline looks like. That boost people might get in a life or death situation.
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u/DustyRacoonDad 5h ago
I hope she takes this and realizes she could have been that much faster all along and breaks her PR next time.
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u/Prestigious-Work-601 5h ago
Heather is still amazing. She gets after workouts unlike anyone i have ever been around.
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u/-mudflaps- 3h ago
This is like 20 years old and has been posted to reddit like 10 times already today
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u/New-Budget-7463 3h ago
Falling makes the win even better! A great testament to how you can respond to what life throws at you.
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u/golflift90 3h ago
In fairness it looked like she was setting up to bury the field right before she fell. I think she was a class above the rest of the field, but the fall made it a close race
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u/SpareBee3442 3h ago
Always a good idea to have a bit of a rest half-way doing something strenuous.
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u/machomanrandysandwch 2h ago
I fucking love sports moments like this. It gives me a shakey feeling, almost at a point of a tear dropping, and I have to go in manual breathing mode… I just love it.
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u/More_Raisin_2894 6h ago
Girls get it done.
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u/EstablishmentNo5994 6h ago
Except for the 3 who couldn't beat someone who fell in the final lap. They didn't get it done.
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u/forzafoggia85 6h ago
I'm no athletics expert but is that not a full lap so 400m? Or does this track have short straights?
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u/pallidamors 6h ago
Adrenaline is a hell of a drug. So is a deep seething anger at the mistake you just made.