Some athletes celebrate after they cross the finish line. Banana the corgi decided to make her victory memorable before she even got there. The tiny 5-year-old racer charged across Lumen Field with her white paws flying, then added a perfectly timed glance toward her competition that turned an already impressive run into an unforgettable moment. Within hours, the reigning Seahawks Corgi Cup champion had people laughing, cheering, and comparing her confident finish to one of the most famous moments in Olympic sprinting.

Credit: Facebook

Banana lined up with her fellow corgis during Sunday’s halftime race at Lumen Field, where the Seattle Seahawks were playing the Los Angeles Chargers. Once released, the 21-pound competitor sprinted from midfield with surprising speed. Her route was not exactly perfect, but that hardly mattered. Banana quickly moved ahead of the pack and looked poised to secure another victory. Then came the moment everyone remembered.

Just before reaching the finish line, Banana drifted toward another competitor’s path and briefly looked back at the corgis chasing her. She seemed almost completely aware that she had the advantage before turning forward again and racing across the line.

The playful glance immediately caught people’s attention online. Some viewers compared it to Usain Bolt’s famous look toward his competitors during the 100-meter semifinal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

For Banana, the confident finish added another achievement to an already impressive racing career. She is now a three-time Corgi Cup competitor and a two-time champion of the Seahawks halftime event. Earlier this year, she also represented the Seahawks at the Pro Bowl.

From Family Pet to Corgi Racing Champion

Banana’s rise as a pint-sized sports star was never something her owner, Anne Pham, originally planned. Pham, a longtime Seahawks fan from Seattle, had dreamed of having a corgi long before Banana entered her life. She even kept a note on her phone reminding herself that one day she wanted a corgi named Banana.

“I grew up always wanting a dog,” Pham said. “I had in my iPhone notes that I would get a dog, specifically a corgi, and I would name it Banana.”

Banana remained part of Pham’s future plans until that dream finally became reality after Pham graduated from the University of Washington. What Pham could not have predicted was that her long-awaited companion would eventually become a champion racer with thousands of fans.

Credit: Instagram

Their unexpected journey into corgi racing began at Emerald Downs in 2023. Pham entered Banana into a lottery mostly for fun, and Banana was selected to participate. Then Banana won her heat.

That first victory opened the door to experiences neither of them had anticipated. Banana began appearing at additional races and sporting events, eventually building a following that stretched far beyond Seattle.

In 2024, she even appeared at a Mariners game to help throw out the first pitch. Her personality and growing collection of sports appearances also attracted an online audience, with her TikTok account reaching more than 111,000 followers.

Despite Banana’s impressive record, Pham says there is no intense training routine behind her success. Instead, they have experimented with different ways of encouraging Banana to run toward the finish line. One strategy has worked particularly well: a large plush toy waiting for her at the other end.

For Sunday’s race, Pham stood near the finish holding an appropriately oversized stuffed banana. Apparently, that was all the motivation her speedy Corgi needed.

The victory was especially meaningful because getting to Lumen Field required considerably more effort this time. Pham and Banana moved from Seattle to New York City in September, but they were not going to let thousands of miles keep the defending champion away. They flew back to Seattle for the race, giving Banana another opportunity to compete in front of Seahawks fans. The long journey paid off.

Banana not only defended her Corgi Cup title, but also produced a moment that quickly traveled far beyond the stadium. Her little backward glance became the highlight of the race, although Pham initially thought it might spell trouble.

“When I saw her look back, I was like ‘Oh no, it’s over, she’s distracted,'” Pham recalled.

Banana had other ideas. She regained her focus and finished first anyway, turning what looked like a momentary distraction into the funniest part of her victory.

Soon, videos of the race began circulating online. Pham’s phone filled with messages as friends and viewers shared clips of Banana’s memorable finish. After all the excitement, Pham and Banana boarded a red-eye flight back to New York on Sunday night. By then, Banana’s viral moment had spread so widely that something amusing happened when Pham opened her own social media feeds. Her own dog started appearing in her algorithm.

Credit: Facebook

“She would pop up and I was like, ‘Wait, that’s my dog,'” Pham said with a laugh.

For a corgi whose racing career began with a lottery entry made just for fun, Banana has come a remarkably long way. She has collected victories, traveled to major sporting events, and developed a devoted online following, all while remaining the beloved dog Pham had once imagined having someday.

And after flying thousands of miles back to Seattle, winning another championship, and sneaking one confident glance at the competition along the way, Banana gave Seahawks fans another reason to remember her name.

This content was created with AI assistance and edited by the iHeartDogs team.