Olympian Bryan Clay Uses Javelin Throw to Pull Daughter’s Loose Tooth
When Bryan Clay’s daughter’s tooth got loose, the Olympian took a novel approach
— -- Bryan Clay is a retired Olympic athlete, so when his 5-year-old daughter’s tooth became loose, he didn’t just pull it out with a piece of string.
He tied some floss to the loose tooth, tied the other end of the floss to his javelin, and let fly.It did the trick.
“I don’t think she felt it at all,” Clay, 35, told ABC News in a Wednesday interview, describing his youngest child as a “daredevil.” He added: “She had a great time.”
The unusual idea actually came as a result of a talk between his wife and his daughter, Clay said. The Glendora, California, man said loose tooth removals have always been a special occasion in his family. After older children, Jake, 10, and Kate, 8, had their loose teeth out, the family would go for ice cream.
“Of course our number three sees brother and sister having those experiences and can’t wait for her teeth to fall out,” he said. “So she had a loose tooth and so she wanted me to pull it out I said ‘no, no, no,’ I’m not going to do it. It’s not ready yet.”
Ellie, he said, “wiggled and wiggled” the tooth for days until it “was just barely hanging on,” he said, and then his wife and other children gave the little girl suggestions for how to remove the tooth. His wife, Sarah, was the one who came up with the javelin throw idea.
On Tuesday, the family went to Clay’s alma mater, Azusa Pacific University, for the event. Clay tweeted video of the unorthodox tooth removal and was amazed at how quickly it was shared.
“We really posted only for just, kind of so family and friends could see it and be a part of it. You know it’s that age where it’s such a fun experience and so we posted it just so grandmas and grandpas could see it, and uncles and aunties … We really didn’t expect it to kind of take off,” he said.
Clay, who won the decathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, is a motivational speaker and consultant. He recently started a small tech company that’s developing a fitness franchise. His company is also in beta testing on a fitness app. The app, which will work with the Apple Watch, will be available in the app store soon, he said.
