Ready, steady, slow was the order of the day at the World Snail Racing Championships – but not for the speedy snailsake of Taylor Swift
In total, 271 slimy specimens were under the starter’s orders at Grimston Cricket Club in west Norfolk, with the chance to become global champion
Cheered on by a 600-strong crowd from across the world on Saturday, the tiny molluscs had to progress through 18 heats, with 15 snails in each
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And with her dominance clearly not defined to just the music stage, the pop star’s namesake “Snailor Swift” was ready for it and declared the winner, ahead of others including Christopher Slowlan and Snailifer Lopez
Ian Haynes, the Snail Master, said it was great to see people “keeping a quirky, bonkers tradition alive”, which has been running since the 1960s
Luna and Floor were two snail enthusiasts who took part, but it appeared there was no bad blood when they did not win
Floor said: “We used to race snails in Doesburg in the Netherlands where we’re from, but we now live in Norwich and brought in these snails from our allotment.”
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She said their entrants – Michael Snailin, Christopher Slowlan and Snailifer Lopez – had undergone their own training by “veggie-loading”
Tom Peytoureau has form – he is a French snail racing champion, which he said was a tradition born in his country
His snail, Coquiette, won the second heat, but would not shake off his bad form and did not progress much further
“It’s because you guys drive on the left,” he said
Haynes said about 600 people attended from across the country and abroad, including France, Germany, Poland, the US and Brazil, and it was the busiest event since it started again in 2023 after being paused by the Covid pandemic
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“It’s just bonkers every year,” he said
Funds from the event go to the local community and St Andrew’s Church
“Nothing sensible has come from it whatsoever, but the snail trainers take it very seriously,” he said
“They use lots of different techniques, from giving them cucumber to stay hydrated to also keeping them in the dark, so they are ready to go off and find some darkness
“A few people have tried to entice the snails with cucumber, but we have to reprimand them for doing that
“It’s just all very good natured and good fun.”
The eventual winner was Sam Pemberton with Snailor Swift, who slithered 13.5in (34cm) over the finish line – at the speedy time of three minutes and 13 seconds
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