A humorous incident occurred involving Chelsea star Raheem Sterling, who was left momentarily speechless by a group of schoolchildren playfully imitating his unique running style.
Sterling’s running style is easily recognizable, as he keeps his forearms elevated while striding forward without the usual arm swing motion.
He once attributed this distinctive style to his mother, a former competitive runner, during a 2018 interview with talkSPORT.
In a recent video, Sterling was about to demonstrate a training drill to a group of schoolchildren, maneuvering through a set of cones while dribbling the ball. Afterward, when the teacher instructed the class to stand up and replicate the drill, the students humorously mimicked Sterling’s running style by elevating their arms as they ran.
The England international can only look on with a slightly confused look on his face, before asking the teacher: “They’re not mocking me, are they?”
The teacher replies: “They’re kids. They’ve asked if you could sign these?”
In a separate clip, the teacher then consoles Sterling as they walk outside the school: “They don’t appreciate you like I do. I like how you run.”
You can see the clip below.
@sterling7Why are they running like that? 😂😉
Fortunately for Sterling, however, the reaction of the schoolchildren was part of an advert for Clarks, for which the Chelsea winger is a Global Brand Ambassador.
The duo released a boot collection last year, which paid homage to Sterling’s home town of Kingston, Jamaica.
On the pitch, Sterling has been in fine form so far this season.
Despite the Blues losing 3-1 at West Ham on Sunday, the England star was impressive with his direct running and ability to go past defenders.
He also won a penalty for Chelsea when the scores were 1-1, but Enzo Fernandez missed from the spot.
Speaking about Sterling’s performance after the match, manager Mauricio Pochettino said: “We were talking a lot this week in my office. He’s a player that can deliver.
“Today, he was fantastic. For sure, he’s not happy because we didn’t win, but this is the way we expect the players to perform.”