German YouTuber Tom Kopke Beats All‑Time Cheese‑Rolling Champion Chris Anderson

Key Points

• German YouTuber Tom Kopke, 24, has won the opening race at the Cooper’s Hill cheese‑rolling event in Gloucestershire, beating local legend Chris Anderson, 38, who came out of retirement for the challenge.
• Kopke’s victory marks his third consecutive cheese‑rolling title, underlining his growing dominance at one of Britain’s most chaotic and watched‑from‑afar traditions.
• The contest took place on Cooper’s Hill in Brockworth, near Gloucester, on a hot late‑May day, with thousands of spectators lining the dangerously steep slope.
• Kopke described the hill as “hell” and himself as “the devil” in emotional post‑race remarks, while also admitting he had just one thought during the tumble: “I’m going to get his ass.”
• Anderson, a 23‑time champion and Guinness World Record holder for the most wins, took the lead at the start but ultimately slipped back as Kopke surged past him close to the finish line.
• The prize for first place was a three‑kilogram wheel of Double Gloucester cheese, which Kopke clutched at the bottom after a bruising, head‑over‑heels descent.
• Organisers and medical staff reported multiple injuries across the day’s races, underlining the extreme physical risk of the unofficial event, despite repeated safety warnings.

Gloucestershire (Britain Today News) May 25,2026 – GERMANY’S TOM KOPKE has cemented his status as the new face of Britain’s wildest grass‑roots race, edging out 23‑time champion Chris Anderson to claim his third straight title at the Cooper’s Hill cheese‑rolling event.

On a baking hot Monday afternoon, Kopke, a 24‑year‑old YouTuber from Munich, hurled himself down the infamous slope in Brockworth, chasing a speeding wheel of Double Gloucester cheese and ultimately catching not just the cheese but an all‑time record‑holder. As he rolled across the finish area, Kopke declared:

“If that hill is hell, I’m the devil,”

a line that quickly circled online after the race.

How did the race between Kopke and Anderson unfold?

Anderson, a 38‑year‑old local hero and Guinness World Record holder for the most wins between 2002 and 2022, had been lured out of retirement by Kopke’s increasingly confident boasts ahead of the event. As reported by the BBC’s Gloucestershire (UK) correspondent, Anderson took the lead at the top of Cooper’s Hill, pulling ahead as the cheese thundered down the 200‑yard‑long, 45‑degree‑plus incline.

Kopke, however, said he had a laser‑focused mindset from the outset.

“The entire race I saw Chris in front of me and I had to get him,”

Kopke told reporters, echoing comments he posted on his social channels shortly after the win. Anderson admitted from the start he felt uneasy, telling one reporter:

“I knew the game was up when I saw him haring past me.”

The German YouTuber, who operates under the online alias “Tooleko,” pipped Anderson close to the line, capturing the coveted wheel of cheese and the title of 2026 champion.

What made this year’s showdown so highly anticipated?

This year’s contest was billed as a symbolic “cheese‑off” between the old guard and the new generation of thrill‑seekers, with Kopke’s third‑year challenge seen as a direct test of Anderson’s legacy. As noted by the Guardian’s Gloucestershire reporter, Anderson’s 23 wins had turned him into a near‑folklore figure in the West Country, while Kopke’s back‑to‑back victories in 2024 and 2025 had already made him a viral sensation on digital platforms.

The media buildup framed the race as a generational clash: Anderson representing the gritty, self‑taught tradition of the local hill, and Kopke embodying the calculated, content‑driven athlete‑plus‑YouTuber model. As Kopke put it after the race,

“This isn’t just about cheese; it’s about proving that preparation and nerve can beat raw experience.”

What was Kopke’s mindset and preparation like?

Kopke’s approach to the event has increasingly resembled that of a professional athlete, even if the sport itself remains gloriously amateur. He told a BBC interviewer that he had spent months training on steep slopes in Germany, simulating the fall patterns and roll techniques he would need to survive the drop.

In a post‑race interview, he offered a deceptively simple formula:

“Shut off your brain and go for it.”

He expanded on that, saying anxiety and over‑thinking were the main reasons people lost control, and that his key to winning was to trust his momentum and not fight the tumble. Kopke also admitted the danger head‑on, telling one outlet that he “risked his life” to win the race, a comment that both drew admiration and renewed debate about the safety of the event.
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How did Anderson feel about coming second at the top of his game?

For Anderson, the result was a mixture of pride and resignation. Speaking to the BBC, he said he had entered the race because he

“simply couldn’t ignore the challenge”

from Kopke, particularly after the YouTuber questioned whether Anderson could still keep up physically.

At the bottom of the hill, the two competitors embraced, a moment captured by multiple news crews and social‑media users. Anderson later told a regional reporter:

“I knew when he shot past me that it was his day. You can’t argue with gravity and youth.”

Despite the loss, Anderson stressed that he still felt gratified to be part of the sport’s most talked‑about showdown in years.

Why is the Cooper’s Hill cheese‑rolling event so dangerous?

The Cooper’s Hill cheese‑rolling race is infamous for its extreme gradient and lack of safety barriers, with spectators often standing just metres from the tumbling runners. The slope plunges more than 200 yards at a near‑45‑degree angle, and the irregular surface means participants rarely remain upright, instead ricocheting off rocks and grass in a series of uncontrolled rolls.

Medical teams routinely report a high number of injuries each year, including sprains, fractures, and head impacts. As one BBC correspondent put it,

“Most competitors reach the bottom bruised, if not outright broken.”

Kopke himself left the race with a fresh array of bruises and a swollen ankle, but he laughed off the damage, telling a reporter:

“A few bandaids are the price of glory here.”

What does this mean for the future of the event?

Kopke’s three‑straight win has split opinions within the local community and beyond. Some traditionalists argue that the influx of internet‑famous competitors has turned a small‑town spectacle into a stunt‑driven media circus. Others see Kopke’s success as a way to keep the event alive, especially as younger audiences increasingly discover it through viral videos and social‑media clips.

The BBC’s Gloucestershire correspondent noted that organisers are now under pressure to strike a balance between safety and tradition, while also trying not to “kill the spirit of the hill” by over‑regulating the race. As one long‑time spectator put it to a local reporter:

“If they make it safe, is it even Cooper’s Hill anymore?”

What did Kopke say about his relationship with Anderson now?

Despite the fierce rivalry in the lead‑up, Kopke and Anderson have publicly spoken of mutual respect. After the race, Kopke told the BBC:

“Chris is the king of this hill, full stop. I’m just the guy who got lucky enough to beat him three times.”

He also said he hopes they will race again in future years, either as rivals or as team‑mates in demonstration runs for younger competitors.

Anderson, in turn, told a Guardian reporter that he would not rule out another comeback if Kopke sets a new challenge.

“As long as that hill is still standing and Tom keeps coming back, you can’t count me out either,”

he said, adding with a smile:

“Even if all I do is make a few more people laugh as they watch me roll.”