Some of Lewis County’s finest babies lined the stage at the Southwest Washington Fair Thursday, ready for the biggest race of their lives and for a grand prize worth $1,000.
With the sun beating down on their foreheads and the crowd filled with anticipation, one stood — or, rather, crawled — above the rest.
Clara Ione Turrentine, at just 13 months old, raced out ahead in both the preliminary and final heat to take home the grand prize at the KELA/KMNT Diaper Derby for her mother, Emma, and the rest of her family.
While Clara couldn’t quite put into words what the win and prize meant for her, her mom was more than happy to speak on her behalf.
“I was expecting some baby wipes or something and not totally sweet prizes,” Emma said. “It’s exciting.”
Emma said that almost no preparation was put into the contest Thursday afternoon, and that Clara’s desire to win came solely from a love for Mom.
“She’s obsessed with mom,” she said.
With one of her brothers holding her at the starting line, mom waited at the finish line, and it was a wrap for all the other competitors as soon as Clara locked eyes with her mother.
“I figured if I were on the other side there’s no way she would have gotten there,” Emma said. “I figured if someone else held her at the start, she’d go for mom.”
Emma said she found out about the contest only a few weeks ago, and with insistence from her sons, entered Clara into the competition for fun more than anything. Little did they know they had a budding superstar sprinter at the young age of 13 months in Clara.
Who knows, maybe the 2036 Olympics are next for Lewis County’s finest diaper dasher.
