World's First "Sperm Race" Held... Why a 17-Year-Old Raised $1.5 Million

Emphasizing That Sperm Quality Is Linked to Overall Health

A sperm race competition organized by high school students was held in the United States.

A video visualizing the sperm race competition held in Los Angeles (LA), USA. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

According to AFP, on the night of the 25th (local time), the world's first sperm race competition was held at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles (LA), USA. The event was organized by four teenage entrepreneurs from the United States with the aim of raising awareness about male infertility. Eric Zhu, a 17-year-old high school student, raised $1.5 million (approximately 2.1 billion KRW) to host the event.

The competition involved sperm samples collected from two healthy male college students, which were made to compete against each other on a 20cm-long race track. A man in a lab coat started the race by placing the pre-collected sperm samples onto a 2mm-wide 'track.' The scene was magnified 100 times under a microscope and then transformed into a video using 3D animation software. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the venue. The event also attracted attention online, with the YouTube livestream surpassing 100,000 views. The winner of the competition was Tristan Milker from the University of Southern California (USC).

Zhu, who planned the event, said he was inspired by a social media post claiming that the average sperm count has halved over the past 50 years. In an interview with AFP, he stated, "A dystopian future where no one can have children could arrive," and explained, "Through this event, I wanted to emphasize the importance of reproductive health."

Some observers noted that such views align with the 'pro-natalist' movement that is widespread among the American right. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has publicly expressed the belief that population decline threatens Western societies. In fact, he has fathered at least 14 children with several women. However, Zhu drew a clear distinction, saying, "I am not like Elon Musk, who wants to repopulate the Earth." He insisted that his intention was simply to raise awareness that sperm quality is closely linked to overall health. Zhu emphasized, "Going to bed early, quitting drugs, and eating healthier?all of these things have a significant impact on athletic performance."

However, despite the organizer's 'serious' intentions, some pointed out that the event was merely an occasion to showcase teenage 'puberty humor.' Some attendees wore costumes resembling male genitalia, and the event hosts made lewd jokes while teasing the participants.