KEY POINTS:
Wellington psychologist Jemima Bullock, 33, has won the women's championship in one of Britain's odder sports events -- the annual cheese rolling in Gloucestershire.
"It was a bit slippy out there but I think that actually helped," she told The Sun newspaper as she nursed her bloodied knee after the race on Sunday.
"I guess you've got to be a bit mad to do this."
The Times newspaper reported 20 minor injuries were treated at the event as participants flung themselves down Cooper's Hill, near Brockworth in southeast England, in a race to catch big "wheels" of double Gloucester cheese.
About 3000 people gathered to see the contestants, dressed in everything from a shirt and tie to pink skirts, slip and tumble on the muddy slope.
Spectators were also warned that one of the biggest hazards were the 3.5kg cheeses, which could veer into the crowd as they hurtled down the hill.
The winners keep the cheese, and race runners-up get 10 pounds ($27) for their trouble, with a five pound prize for third-place.
The unusual event is thought to have its roots in a heathen festival to celebrate the return of spring.
- NZPA
