Camambert-it: Annual cheese rolling championship takes place in baking heat at social media star clinches victory
Recent warm weather had made the hill firmer and more dangerous for the competitors
A German YouTuber has won the famous Gloucestershire cheese-rolling contest after edging out a local man who came out of retirement to see off the pretender to his crown.
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Recent double champion Tom Kopke, 24, pipped Guinness World Record holder Chris Anderson close to the finish line, after chasing an 8lb double Gloucester cheese down Cooper’s Hill in Brockworth, before declaring: "This year’s cheese will taste the sweetest of all the cheeses I have won."
Both men risked broken bones and serious injury as they joined about two dozen daredevils to throw themselves down a steep hill in the annual death-defying cheese-rolling race.
Brave competitors sprinted, tripped and tumbled down Cooper’s Hill in Brockworth to try to win the double Gloucester.
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The heavy spring rain had softened the track, but the recent hot weather had made it firmer and more dangerous for the competitors who were cheered on by thousands of spectators.
There was an extra competitive edge to this year’s races as Guinness World Record holder Chris Anderson, 38, came out of retirement after being challenged by YouTuber and recent double champion Tom Kopke, 24.
Mr Kopke, from Munich, came out on top after pipping Mr Anderson close to the finish line in the first men’s downhill race.
The German, who retained the title he has won the previous two years, was embraced by his rival at the bottom after being declared the winner.
"This was I think my best year ever and I tried to stay on my feet for as long as possible," Mr Kopke said.
"I don’t know how it went but I gave everything. It’s everyone’s race and you have just got to give your best and the best man wins.
"I think I got a good recovery on the middle of the hill and then sprinted the rest. This year’s cheese will taste the sweetest of all the cheeses I have won."
Asked how he prepares, he said: "Shut off your brain and go for it. The entire race I saw Chris in front of me and I had to get him."
Mr Anderson, from Brockworth, has won 23 times between 2005 and 2022.The Anderson family look set to produce another generation of champions, with younger members following in their footsteps by winning the children’s uphill races.
Mr Anderson’s 11-year-old son Will won the younger race, while cousin Xander Anderson, 16, won the teenager’s race.
The women’s downhill race was won by Alix Heugas, 27, from the Basque region of France.
Speaking afterwards, she said: "It was great, I had no technique, no training, just wing it.
A lad from Florida won the cheese rolling race in Gloucestershire.
— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) May 25, 2026
The slow-motion replay is something else. pic.twitter.com/YJOng2ZLB7
"Do not be afraid, you are going to get hit but it is okay, you will not break a bone – just go for it.
"I have wanted to do it for years and when I knew I was coming to live in England for three months I was definitely signing up for this.“I’m going to eat the cheese with friends and family."
The final race of the day was one by American teenager Otto Linkogle, from Florida. The 19-year-old said: “"t was really hot racing down, it was a lot of pressure, I run tracks and it was like a track.
"My heart was going and you just have to go. I didn’t practice – I just wish I did. I have seen this for a couple of years now and I was over here doing the Cotswold Way and I have always wanted to do it, so I am here and I am going to run."
Four cheeses weighing about 3kg each and three smaller ones, weighing about 1.5kg, are used. The unusual event has been celebrated for centuries and is thought to have its roots in a heathen festival to celebrate the return of spring.
The official event was cancelled after more than 15,000 people turned up as spectators to watch the 2009 competition.
Since then, it has been held unofficially, with police keeping a watchful eye.
Roads have been closed up to two and a half miles around the slope. Some competitors travelled from across the world to take part in the series of madcap races, which attracted international TV crews.