Molly Caudery ruled out for season after emergency spinal surgery
World indoor pole vault champion will miss Commonwealth Games and European Championships after undergoing successful microdiscectomy.
British pole vault record-holder Molly Caudery has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2026 season after undergoing emergency spinal surgery.
The 26-year-old revealed on Saturday (June 13) that she required a microdiscectomy – a procedure that removes part of a damaged spinal disc – following a back issue that rapidly deteriorated last week.
As a result, Caudery will miss two of the biggest events of the summer, the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the European Championships in Birmingham.
The news comes just days after the world indoor champion produced one of her best performances of the year, winning the Diamond League meeting in Rome with a season's best clearance of 4.80m.
Writing on Instagram, Caudery said: “And just like that, my season is over. Absolutely heartbroken to even be writing this, missing out on yet another major champs and home games.
“Emergency spinal surgery wasn't on my 2026 bingo card.”
Caudery explained that a back flare-up worsened significantly over a short period of time, forcing doctors to intervene.
“I had a back flare-up last week that got worse quickly and immediate surgical intervention was needed to prevent any further damage,” she said.
“The surgery was a success and my road to recovery starts today.”
The setback is the latest in a series of frustrating blows for the British athlete. After winning world indoor gold and setting a British record of 4.92m in 2024, she failed to register a height at the Paris Olympics and then missed the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo after suffering a freak ankle injury during the warm-up.
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Over Christmas prior to the 2022 season, she also almost lost a finger after an injury lifting weights in the gym and had to undergo emergency surgery on her hand.
A Commonwealth silver medallist in 2022 and European bronze medallist in 2024, Caudery had hoped 2026 would provide an opportunity to challenge for major outdoor honours on home soil.
“Really thought 2026 was going to be my year after heartbreak in Paris and Tokyo and everything in between,” she added, “but just wanted to add another chapter in the autobiography before the comeback.”
