UVA Track Star Easily Beats Man Who Challenged Her To Race: Watch

VIRGINIA — A man underestimated University of Virginia track star Alahna Sabbakhan when he claimed he could beat the award-winning Division 1 runner in a race, and his miscalculation was captured in a TikTok video that's since been viewed more than 10.7 million times.

Sabbakhan, who earned first-team All-America honors during the 2022 indoor season, was doing a 400-meter workout when her boyfriend's friend, whom she declined to name, "refused to believe that a woman could beat him in a race," she told NBC Today.

She brushed it off at first, but later changed her mind.

The pair lined up on the track. The man, whom Sabbakhan said "does not run" in her viral TikTok video, brought his parents and friends to witness the challenge.

In the video, the man starts the race with a big grin for the camera. For the first 200 meters, Sabbakhan runs alongside him.

“I’m not exerting myself for no reason. I have nothing to prove here,” she says in the video. "If you’re crazy enough to challenge a 400-, 800(-meter) athlete to a 400 race, that’s on you."

According to Sabbakhan, the man's "lack of fitness" hit him hard after 200 meters. That's when Sabbakhan picked up the pace to "finish hard because that's what you do as a track runner."

In the video, Sabbakhan swiftly sprints ahead to finish the race as the man lags farther behind.

Sabbakhan told NBC Today the man took the loss in stride.

"He wasn't like, 'Oh, that wasn't fair,'" she told NBC Today. "He was like, 'Yeah, that was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.' I feel like it was just a really good learning experience. It showed people that they need to stop underestimating us — as in track athletes, female athletes."

Sabbakhan told NBC Today the video was recorded a year ago, but she didn't post it until late December because she thought it would be perfect for her growing TikTok page, where she shares exercise, diet and other content for her followers.

When interviewed by the university, Sabbakhan said she doesn’t hold any ill will toward the man. She said they also spoke after she posted the video.

"He’s tried to not be too focused on the negative things people have said about him. I told him I didn’t intend for people to kind of jump on him,” she said. “We are on good terms."

Meanwhile, Sabbakhan also offered some words of encouragement for other female athletes.

“Keep doing what you’re doing," she told the university. "Women’s sports have come a long way. We are part of something special. Be confident in your abilities and stay motivated in what you are doing."