FANS have been left in stitches as a skiing star was awarded a COW after winning the World Cup Women's Downhill in Val d'Isere.
Switzerland's Jasmine Flury was presented with the animal after claiming her first World Cup downhill title.
Flury, 30, smashed the course in a time of 1:43.47, which saw her beat out the likes of compatriot Joana Haehlen and Austria’s Cornelia Huetter.
But fans were shocked when they saw what her prize was, although Flury loved it, giving the animal a kiss on the nose.
One fan posted: "What a ridiculous 'prize'."
A second questioned: "Is the prize at the Downhill World Cup a cow? It's cute, but what should I do?"
READ MORE IN SPORT
My dad's one of the world's most famous rock stars but I won Olympic silver
Win £20,000 tax free cash from just 89p with our discount code
A third wrote: "Very strange."
Another joked: "In an alternate world, a cow just won a skier."
Flury was given a cow as her prize, however, it is primarily a symbolic gesture and money would then be given in exchange.
That was up until 2014 when American Lindsey Vonn chose to keep the calf, because it was "really cute".
Most read in Sport
LOCKYER SCARE
Bournemouth vs Luton abandoned after Lockyer collapses in troubling scenes
STRETCHED TO THE LIMIT
Plymouth ace forced off, before replacement carried off on stretcher
FAN SCARE
Tottenham vs Arsenal suspended as medics sprint to deal with crowd emergency
DELIA DANGER
Delia Smith looks shaken after yobs hurl cans and flares at her car at Ipswich
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFER
The decision proved to be the right one as the cow ended up being worth far more than the £4,000 prize money.
She told US Ski and Snowboard: "Her name is Olympe. It was an Olympic year.
"Patrick Riml [Alpine Director] had to go and negotiate for my cow.
"That cow is apparently worth $20,000 [£15,761], and they weren’t intending on actually giving it away. They assumed I would just want the $5K."
WEIRD PRIZES
However, it is not the weirdest prize to be given to a sportsperson.
Golf's Trophée Hassan II gives the choice between a jewelled ceremonial dagger over a jacket or cardigan.
Welshman Rhys Davis won the competition in 2010 and opted for the weapon.
However, he needed a special letter of permission from the Moroccan royal family in order to get it home.
The winner of the cycling race at the Paris Roubaix is presented with a cobblestone trophy.
In football, there is a wide range of differing and bizarre Man of the Match awards.
Read more on The Sun
I lost £635 by selling an iPhone on eBay after buyer claimed device was fake
Asda trick to get discounts revealed as customer bags £10 of shopping for 10p
In Zimbabwe, footballers are gifted a crate of beer, while Martin Odegaard was given a fresh fish after an impressive outing for Real Sociedad in 2019.
Franco Armani was given a paper crown from Burger King for his performance for River Plate against Danubio in 2018.
Source: Read Full Article