Shenendehowa High Senior Battling Cancer Completes Relay

CLIFTON PARK, NY —Yeva Klingbeil, a senior at Shenendehowa High School, was the inspirational star of the Monday's girls track and field meet, which took place north of Albany.

A member of the school's track team, Klingbeil was diagnosed in 2019 with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer that attacks soft tissue, particularly voluntary muscles connected to bones, hampering movement. It's a disease she continues to fight.

But on Monday, Klingbeil completed her leg of the 4 x 100 relay with a little help from her relay teammates. Video of the feat was posted on Twitter and shows Klingbeil being helped down the track by three teammates. When she crosses the finish line, Klingbeil is surrounded by the rest of the team, who begin chanting "Yeva, Yeva, Yeva!"

An accompanying message from the school's athletic department read: "Yeva continues her fight with cancer and we continue to be amazed by her spirit!!"

The video quickly went viral. On Tuesday morning, the video appeared on NBC's "Today" during a segment called "Hoda's Morning Boost," where it was introduced by co-host Hoda Kotb. The chyron on the screen read: "Friends for the Long Run."

Among the other people to re-Tweet the original video were: former NBA standout turned Twitter star Rex Chapman, New York State Senator Jim Tedisco and The New York State Athletic Administrators Association.