He Caught a Flying Shoe at 70 MPH... While Riding a Roller Coaster

Tom Daley Visits Busch Gardens With Boyfriend Dustin Lance Black And Friends TAMPA, FL - AUGUST 10: Tom Daley and boyfriend Lance Black ride the Cheetah Hunt rollercoaster at Busch Gardens Tampa on August 10, 2015 in Tampa, Florida. OLYMPIC diver Tom Daley has been spotted making a splash at an American theme park. The bronze medallist took time out of his gruelling schedule to belatedly celebrate his 21st birthday with a host of friends and long-term boyfriend, Dustin Lance Black. The spirited party laughed their way through the Busch Gardens Tampa theme park in sunny Florida. The birthday boy rode in the front row of roller coasters like the SheiKra and the Cheetah Hunt, a ride inspired by the parks big cat exhibit. One photo shows his friends comically sporting masks with his face on them while he fearlessly rides with both hands in the air. After enjoying a round of bacon pretzels, the group also toured the Serengeti Safari where they got up close and personal with giraffe - snapping selfies and hand feeding the giant animal. PHOTOGRAPH BY Ruaridh Connellan / Barcroft Media (Photo credit should read Ruaridh Connellan / Barcroft via Getty Images) (Barcroft Media/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
By Jade Alexander and Just Ben

Talk about having quick reflexes.

A thrill seeker riding the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia pulled off what might be the catch of the year after another rider’s shoe flew off at nearly 70 mph and came hurtling straight toward him.

The entire moment was captured on the rider’s Meta smart glasses. Moments after the coaster took off, a passenger in the front row lost a white sneaker. Instead of disappearing into the lake below, the shoe smacked the rider in the face and somehow, he caught it.

“I got it!” the stunned rider shouted before proudly holding the shoe in the air for the rest of the ride.

After the coaster came to a stop, he tracked down the shoe’s owner and returned it, earning cheers from the rider and her friends.

The rider later said the catch was completely unplanned and happened purely by instinct. The footage, recorded from his point of view, has since gone viral as people try to decide what’s more impressive: catching a flying shoe at 70 mph or hanging onto it for the rest of the ride.

One thing’s for sure, it’s probably the luckiest lost-and-found story a theme park has ever seen.

Jade Alexander

Jade Alexander

If you’re a native of South Florida, you know Jade from her many years on local radio as a Jock and on television as both an Entertainment Reporter and News Anchor. This Miami girl has hosted some pretty memorable shows, events, and parties in this town. She’s a hugger, the ultimate animal lover, and has never met a stranger.

Ben Harris

Just Ben

Just Ben joins Jade Alexander and Brittany Brave on the Jade Alexander Show, weekday mornings from 6A – 10A.

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