Nick Hirannet and Himalaya Mehta gets on ESPN with this ‘greatest’ Ultimate play
|Watch on ESPN: Philly ultimate player lays out for the catch – ESPN Video
Once in a while, ultimate Frisbee shows up on SportsCenter Top 10 at night to amaze the audience with the athleticism, but also confuse much of that same audience by the wackiness of it.
You might need to watch the latest culprit a few times over, because it may just be the most incredible play yet:
Welcome to Major League Ultimate, a professional Frisbee league where on Sunday, the Philadelphia Spinners’ Nick Hirannet pulled off what is called a “greatest” against the Boston Whitecaps, to fling it back into play where it eventually resulted in a diving catch for a goal.
Confused yet? It’s alright, we’ll do our best to break it down for you.
- Keep an eye on the clock. The Spinners have to rush the disc up the field as the seconds tick away at the end of the first half, when Hirannet is forced to attempt a “greatest” by jumping from in bounds to catch a disc and fling it back into play toward the end zone before he hits the ground.
- At this point, Hirannet launches an extremely awkward and unorthodox throw known as a “chicken-wing” about 35 yards toward the end zone.
- The disc is then tipped twice, once by a Boston defender, then by a Philadelphia receiver right behind him. It then flies to the back of the end zone, where Himalaya Mehta lays out while toeing the back line for the score. All at the buzzer.
It takes some serious abilities to throw a Frisbee like that, over that distance. And then to catch it while diving? Unreal.