TV Reporter Covering The Hermosa Beach "Beer Ironman" Competition Gets Projectile Vomited On
HP – KTLA reporter Wendy Burch was covering the annual Hermosa Beach Ironman on Tuesday in Los Angeles County when a competitor vomited on her.
“Oh, no, no,” she said as anchors in the studio watched in horror.
In a blog for HuffPost, Burch said she had been interviewing one participant who had a bull’s-eye and the words “puke here” written on his back? a detail she didn’t realize until it was too late. Midway through the interview, a fellow competitor took the bait.
The live telecast froze at the moment of impact, which Burch said was a technical glitch, not a director’s act of mercy. Unaware that she was no longer on the air, she said she continued to interview revelers on the scene, “while sudsy substances flew in the air and landed in my hair.”
“After that, it was a wrap,” she said. “I drove home, took a hot shower and a long nap.”
The heaving finish shouldn’t come as too great a surprise. This so-called “Ironman” involves running a mile, paddling a mile in the ocean and chugging a six-pack of beer as fast as you can. “First to finish without puking wins!” chirps the event website.
That face when you realize all those years of journalism and communications and media training has paid off with you covering the Hermosa Beach Ironman competition interviewing a fat dude with “puke here” written on his back getting projectile vomited on:
Poor Wendy Burch. To her credit she posted a pretty funny blog about it describing exactly what happened and seems like a cool chick.
The video has now been posted on YouTube dozens of times, under the search title “reporter vomited on.” It shows the video ‘freezing’ right as the liquid projectile is heading directly my way. One would assume this was the quick action of a thoughtful technical director who wanted to spare the viewing audience of anything offensive.
Nope.
It was just a technical glitch.
And while the anchors tried to regain their composure and go onto the next story. I assumed I was still live. So, for the better part of the next two minutes, I just kept interviewing drunken people. while sudsy substances flew in in the air and landed in my hair.
Let’s say, after that, it was a wrap.
She’s covered murders, she’s covered scandal, she’s covered social unrest and political turmoil. Now she can add the Hermosa Beach Run, Paddle, Chug Ironman complete with getting puked on to her CV.
