Call her the comeback kid.
A young girl has stunned spectators after winning a 200-meter sprint — despite losing her shoe partway through and turning back to fetch it.
Talaya Crawford, 7, pulled off the remarkable feat at a track meet held in Omaha, Nebraska, last Saturday.
The incredible moment was recorded by her famous father, boxer Terence “Bud” Crawford, who first posted the footage to his Instagram page Sunday.
“I just can’t stop thinking about my daughters track meet yesterday,” Bud wrote alongside the video. “She just doesn’t have a clue how much she just motivated me. This is the definition of not giving [up], heart and grit. She let it all hang out even when she was hit with adversity.”
The clip was subsequently reposted to Twitter, where it has been viewed a whopping 9 million times.
The video shows young Talaya lose her shoe just seconds after the starting gun fires, signaling the beginning of the 200-meter race.
The youngster immediately realizes she is missing the footwear, and turns back to retrieve the item, quickly pulling it back on.
While most kids may have called it quits, Talaya chooses to persevere, and sets off on the sprint, despite being way behind her competitors.
“Go Talaya! Go Talaya!” her family can be heard screaming from the stands, as the speedy 7-year-old begins closing in on her fellow runners.
Remarkably, the elementary school student overtakes her rivals halfway through, bolting ahead of the competition and staying there until she crosses the finish line.
Spectators seemed shocked by Talaya’s unlikely victory — and viewers on social media had the exact same reaction.
“Superstar already. Ain’t never seen nobody put a shoe back on and then win by that much in a 200m race!” one Instagram user remarked.
Another emotionally added: “Me and my wife watched ithis three times in a row, both in awe that she didn’t just get upset and quit. I think most kids wouldn’t pouted, cried. Not only does stick with it and finish, but she comes back to somehow dominate. We should all have her grit.”
Meanwhile, Talaya’s running coach, Shunta Paul, told Omaha.com that the youngster was “embarrassed” by the blunder, and that she has promised to make sure her shoelaces are tightly tied before the beginning of every future race.
But Paul said it’s really Talaya who has taught people all around the world an important lesson: “Never give up!”
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