Holland Reynolds became an internet sensation this week when she collapsed at a race but crawled across the finish line—all for her ailing coach.
Reynolds, a junior at University High School in San Francisco, was competing at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Championships in Fresco, running a 3.1-mile race, a type of feat she had conquered so many times before.
But about two-thirds of the way through, she started to experience intense fatigue and pain.
The 16-year-old California high school student and running star fell down just feet from the finish line, but crawled on her hands and knees to complete the race, withstanding pain, dehydration and mild hypothermia to finish, according to MaxPreps.com.
Here’s the kicker: despite not finishing first, she still put up a good enough time to propel her team to the state championship. And it may be the last time that Reynolds’ coach Jim Tracy, who is stricken with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease), is able to stand and cheer for his team.
“I just wanted it so badly for our coach,” Reynolds told MaxPreps.com. “And I was willing to do anything to get there.”
After calculating all the times for the event, Tracy found out that his team had won the state title. Without Reynold’s miraculous finish, they wouldn’t have succeeded.
“We won,” he said, according to ABC News. “And it was a great feeling.”
Reynolds, a junior at University High School in San Francisco, was competing at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Championships in Fresco, running a 3.1-mile race, a type of feat she had conquered so many times before.
But about two-thirds of the way through, she started to experience intense fatigue and pain.
The 16-year-old California high school student and running star fell down just feet from the finish line, but crawled on her hands and knees to complete the race, withstanding pain, dehydration and mild hypothermia to finish, according to MaxPreps.com.
Here’s the kicker: despite not finishing first, she still put up a good enough time to propel her team to the state championship. And it may be the last time that Reynolds’ coach Jim Tracy, who is stricken with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease), is able to stand and cheer for his team.
“I just wanted it so badly for our coach,” Reynolds told MaxPreps.com. “And I was willing to do anything to get there.”
After calculating all the times for the event, Tracy found out that his team had won the state title. Without Reynold’s miraculous finish, they wouldn’t have succeeded.
“We won,” he said, according to ABC News. “And it was a great feeling.”
