In a video posted to TikTok in December, one man challenged a Division I track athlete to a race—and quickly learned he was in over his head. The video, which has since gone viral, shows University of Virginia runner Alahna Sabbakhan Health & Injuries finish line ahead of her male challenger.
The race took place almost a year ago, in January 2023, according to Sabbakhan, 22. She came across the video recently and felt it was a great fit for her TikTok page, where she shares exercise, diet, and daily life content with over 13,000 followers. She was right—the video now sits at 1.5 million likes.
Sabbakhan was challenged to the race by a friend of her boyfriend who “refused to believe that a woman could beat him in a race,” she says in the video.
In the clip, the two duel over 400 meters, beginning with Sabbakhan keeping pace with the male challenger, who had not prepped for the race and was described in the video as someone who “does not run” regularly. After 200 meters, however, she began to pull ahead as he lagged, clearly looking fatigued.
The race began when Sabbakhan was already at the track working out when the challenger showed up with his friends and parents in tow to witness what he thought would be a victory. “He just kind of showed up,” she said in an interview with TODAY.com. “I don’t know what he was expecting.”
“He didn't really know what to challenge me in,” she says in the interview. “He was like, ‘Yeah, I could beat her in the 400’—not realizing that that was one of the hardest track events and that was one of my secondary events.”
Sabbakhan, who holds personal bests of 54.67 for 400 meters and 2:05.74 for 800 meters, according to TFRRS, Advertisement - Continue Reading Below.
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Laura Ratliff is a New York City-based writer, editor, and runner. Laura's writing expertise spans numerous topics, ranging from travel and food and drink to reported pieces covering political and human rights issues. She has previously worked at Architectural Digest, Bloomberg News, and Condé Nast Traveler and was most recently the senior editorial director at TripSavvy. Like many of us, Laura was bitten by the running bug later in life, after years of claiming to "hate running." Her favorite marathon is Big Sur.
