Molly Caudery Withdraws from World Championships After Warm-up Ankle Injury

Molly Caudery, one of Britain’s leading pole vaulters, was forced to withdraw from the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Monday after rolling her ankle during the warm-up and being taken from the Japan National Stadium in a wheelchair.

The 25-year-old fouled her left ankle while planting her foot into the landing mat during a run-through ahead of qualifying, grimacing in pain and placing her hands in front of her face as medical staff attended. British Athletics confirmed the withdrawal in a statement: "Unfortunately Molly Caudery has been forced to withdraw from pole vault qualifying following an ankle injury sustained in warm-up."

Caudery was pictured in tears and was supported by fellow athletes at the stadium before being taken away in a wheelchair. British Paralympian and BBC pundit Stef Reid described the incident as a "freak accident," saying the landing mats are meant to be soft and that the injury appeared to result from an unfortunate angle on impact.

Caudery later posted an update from the medical centre on social media alongside her boyfriend, British high jumper Joel Clarke-Khan, who is himself recovering from injury and missed the championships. "Heartbroken again," she wrote. "Out before I even started, rolled my ankle during the warm-up. Waiting for an official diagnosis but a huge thank you for all the support as always. 2025 season officially over, see you in 2026." She also shared a photo of the pair in wheelchairs with the message, "We'll get them next year."

The injury ends Caudery’s bid to rebound on the global stage after a disappointing finish at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where she failed to reach the final after not clearing a height in qualifying despite entering the Games as a gold-medal favourite. In 2024 Caudery won the world indoor title, and earlier this year she claimed a Diamond League victory in Doha in May and retained her British title in August. She also won the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold series after two wins and a second-place finish, and placed fourth at the World Indoor Championships in China in March.

Event medical staff and the team medic escorted Caudery from the competition area and she was receiving further assessment at the venue medical facility. British Athletics and Caudery said they were awaiting an official diagnosis before outlining any treatment or rehabilitation timetable. Her withdrawal comes days into the championships and removes one of Britain’s realistic medal contenders from the pole vault field.