A 7-year-old girl helping at the Ironman event has gone viral for her dancing skills. Photo / Supplied
A 7-year-old girl helping at the Ironman event has gone viral for her dancing skills. Photo / Supplied
A 7-year-old girl who passed her time marshalling an intersection at the Ironman race in Taupō over the weekend has gone viral for her dance moves.
Envy Iona, 7, joined her parents for a day of volunteering at the Taupō Ironman event on Saturday.
From 6am to 3pm, she stood patiently on the same stretch of road to help athletes know where to go on the cycling leg of the event.
But rather than just standing around, little Envy decided to bust some moves.
People watching her immediately recognised her dancing as the moves she was performing have recently been popularised on social media app Tik Tok, as part of a dance challenge.
Users on Tik Tok upload videos of themselves dancing this particular set of dance moves to the song "Say So" by Doja Cat.
Envy was helping her parents who were volunteering at the event. Photo / Supplied
Many people, including celebrities, have posted videos of themselves dancing to "Say So", but none quite as care-free and co-ordinated as Envy, who performed the dance as Ironman athetles cycled past her.
Her mum, Celeste Miller, told the Herald that she and her partner, Nuku Iona, were volunteer marshalls at the event, to raise funds for their cultural club, the Lakilua Sports and Cultural Club.
Before the event, Miller suggested to little Envy that she could stay at her grandmother's house if she wanted, but she decided she wanted to help.
"She said she wanted to come with us so she did and we handed her a vest" her mum said.
Envy helped at the event from 6am to 3pm with her parents, at the intersection of Pihanga St and Rifle Range Rd, in Taupō.
Despite the long shift, Envy never complained. "She was just happy to dance," her mum said.
Envy learnt her dance moves from Tik Tok and was just trying to pass the time, not realising she was being filmed by the family who lived across the road.
Once volunteering duties were done for the day, the family went home and they all had a much-deserved nap.
"When she woke up, she was on my phone watching YouTube and then came running in and said I was getting lots of comments on a video I'd shared. I asked her what video," her mum recalls.
A 7-year-old girl helping at the Ironman event has gone viral for her dancing skills. Photo / Supplied
It turns out family and friends had spotted the video which had been uploaded to Facebook and were sharing it and tagging Envy's mum.
Facebook users loved the girl's enthusiasm and dance skills.
"Shes so neat, her momma should be proud," one person commented.
