British pole vault record holder Molly Caudery has been ruled out for the rest of the season after emergency spinal surgery.
The 26-year-old world indoor champion required a microdiscectomy – a procedure to remove part of a spinal disc – after experiencing a “flare-up” last week.
She will miss this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the European Championships in Birmingham.
Last week Caudery won the Diamond League meeting in Rome with a season’s best of 4.80m.
“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,” she wrote on Instagram.
“Emergency spinal surgery wasn’t on my 2026 bingo card.”
Caudery won a Commonwealth silver medal in 2022 and European bronze in 2024.
She failed to clear her opening height at the 2024 Olympics in Paris and missed last year’s World Championships in Tokyo after injuring an ankle in the warm-up.
“I had a back flare-up last week that got worse quickly and immediate surgical intervention was needed to prevent any further damage,” Caudery said.
“The surgery was a success and my road to recovery starts today.
“Really thought 2026 was going to be my year after heartbreak in Paris and Tokyo and everything in between, but just wanted to add another chapter in the autobiography before the comeback.”