AZUSA, CA -- Olympic gold medalist Bryan Clay has a tradition in his family of coming up with creative ways to deal with loose teeth.
So when it came to 5-year-old Ellie Clay's turn, she wanted her dad to throw a javelin -- connected to her tooth. (Clay won the decathlon in 2009.)
"I was a little hesitant at first, but after about a day or so of nagging... I was finally like, 'Ah, alright, I guess we'll give it a shot,'" Clay said.
The father of three made sure the tooth was "practically falling out" before attempting the feat.
In a viral video he posted, dental floss is tied to one of his daughter's baby teeth. That floss is connected to a javelin.
"Say goodbye to the tooth," a woman says off camera.
"Goodbye," Ellie responds.
Clay then throws the javelin across a track field at Azusa Pacific University.
Young Ellie was pleased with the results.
"I thought it was cool," she said.
The tooth fairy agreed. She left a note that read, in part: "Nice job with the javelin, Ellie! That was awesome!"