Munich-based YouTuber Tom Kopke won this year's race chasing a cheese wheel sent hurtling down a hill.
This sport may be one of the most bizarre, but it has a long tradition. Dozens of people chase after a wheel of cheese as it rolls down a hill that’s far too steep – and they do it every year. This year, German YouTuber Tom Kopke won.
Tom Kopke Wins The Cheese Wheel
The Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is a long-standing British tradition that traces its roots back to pagan spring festivals. The first written record of the cheese-rolling event dates back to 1836.
The race is held annually in Brockworth, England. A round cheese wheel is rolled down a 268-meter-high slope with a 45-degree angle, reaching speeds of up to 70 mph. Dozens of men, women, and children chase after the wheel in various race categories. The first person to reach the bottom wins the cheese. Tom Kopke has already won in 2024 and 2025. Check out his video right here!
According to the BBC, this year’s prize was a 7lb wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. Competitors battled it out for it in seven different races, and each winner got to take a wheel home. The ground was very hard due to the hot, dry weather, making it all the more dangerous.
Kopke seemed to find the conditions ideal this year and won the title for the third year in a row. He told the BBC:
This was, I think, my best year ever and I tried to stay on my feet for as long as possible. I think I got a good recovery on the middle of the hill and then sprinted the rest.
This year, Tom even beat the world record holder for most race wins, 23-time champion Chris Anderson. Chris was in the lead at first, but was then overtaken by the German, who managed to stay on his feet for a long time before finally rolling across the finish line. In the end, he got back up and was able to celebrate his victory.
If that hill is hell, I am the devil.
He also teases a possible return for next year.
The race is consistently quite brutal, with several minor to serious injuries occurring every year. Broken bones are not uncommon. For safety reasons, the official race was discontinued in 2010; since then, it has been held unofficially and is considered an extreme sport.
Between flying participants, broken bones, and a wheel of cheese hurtling down the slope, the event feels more like a bad fever dream than a real sports competition. But that is exactly what gives it its cult status. While others win trophies or medals, Tom Kopke can now proudly take home a wheel of cheese for the third time in a row and officially call himself one of the best cheese sprinters in the world.
