British pole vaulter Molly Caudery made her presenting debut for the BBC at the European Athletics Championships, joining the commentary team for the pole vault final alongside Steve Backley. The world indoor champion is recovering from emergency spinal surgery.
Injury and surgery
Caudery underwent a microdiscectomy in June after experiencing a "flare up", ruling her out of competing for the rest of the season. Sharing the news on Instagram, she wrote: "Emergency spinal surgery (microdiscectomy) wasn't on my 2026 bingo card. 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 added: "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 lol."
Health update and commentary role
Welcomed to the BBC studio by Gabby Logan at the start of Thursday's (August 13) evening coverage, Caudery issued an update on her health, saying she was doing "really well" and that the injury was "an absolute shock". She said: "I had big plans for this season, but that got taken away quite quickly."
She expressed excitement about commentating on the women's pole vault final despite not competing, and noted: "I'm back into almost normal training already. It's been nine weeks tomorrow, so it's been quite quick and slick and I've got a great support team around me that have helped me get back to this point. And yeah, looking forward to what's coming next."
Support from co-commentator
Co-commentator Steve Backley noted it "must be tough to watch" the pole vault after her unexpected injury. Caudery said she would have loved to be competing but was enjoying her "new job" in the commentary box, leading Backley to send his support on air: "We wish you all the best."
During day four's live coverage, Ireland's Mark English won the men's 800 metre final after Britain's Max Burgin pulled out due to injury. Amy Hunt clinched 200 metre gold for a European sprint double, while Dina Asher-Smith took bronze. The European Athletics Championships are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
