Tom Kopke Wins 3rd Straight Cheese-Rolling Title, Beating 23-Time Champion Chris Anderson
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 25
Tom Kopke Wins 3rd Straight Cheese-Rolling Title, Beating 23-Time Champion Chris Anderson
7 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 25
Tom Kopke, a German YouTuber known as Tooleko, won Gloucestershire's men's first downhill cheese-rolling race for a third consecutive year, overtaking local rival Chris Anderson near the finish.
A 7lb wheel of Double Gloucester can hit 70mph on Cooper's Hill's 1:2 slope, and firmer ground after hot weather made this year's race faster and more dangerous.
Thousands watched in near-30C heat as seven races were held, with each winner taking home a wheel of cheese; Kopke called the conditions "optimal" and said he stayed on his feet longer than before.
Anderson had just been recognized by Guinness for 23 wins between 2002 and 2022 and came out of retirement for the race, while his son William, 11, and nephew Xander, 16, won the children's uphill events.
The event has run unofficially since the official contest was canceled in 2010 over safety fears, but the centuries-old Cooper's Hill tradition remains one of Britain's best-known extreme races.
How did a German YouTuber master Britain's most bizarre race, dethroning a 23-time local champion?
Does the economic boom from the cheese roll justify the immense strain it puts on local emergency services?
As this dangerous tradition goes viral, can its chaotic spirit survive the inevitable push for safety and control?