8-year-old with cerebral palsy inspires with emotional triathlon finish
Bailey Matthews stumbled, but he did not quit. The 8-year-old with cerebral palsy was running with a walker in the final leg of a triathlon in the United Kingdom, but when the finish line was near and the cheering fans loud, he let it go. And he ran.
He fell, but he got up. He fell again, but he got up again.
The announcer in the background can be heard cheering him on, "You're going to make it to the finish line, Bailey Matthews. You're going to make it to the finish line."
And as the crowd cheered him on, the determined boy did just that. He crossed the finish line and the crowd went wild.
Matthews was competing in the Castle Triathlon Series, which consists of five events throughout the summer in the United Kingdom and France, according to its official Facebook page. Matthews competed in one of them at Castle Howard in England. The boy from Doncaster completed a 100-meter lake swim, a 4,000-meter bike ride and a 1,300-meter run, according to the Facebook page.
According to the Facebook page, hundreds of emotional spectators were there for Bailey as he finished the race.
"We all witnessed an incredible moment today with an amazing display of unparalleled bravery," the post read.
The video of Bailey finishing the race is now going viral. The Facebook post has been viewed over 250,000 times and both liked and shared over 4,000 times. A post with an image of Bailey running has been liked over 50,000 times.
Bailey's mother, Julie, gave an interview to the Yorkshire Post, a newspaper in England.
"Bailey has always been very determined," she said. "If he wants to do something he will find a way to do it, even if it is not the conventional way."