The European Athletics Championships in Birmingham witnessed an unusual disruption on Friday when a camera drone crashed into a hurdle moments before the women’s heptathlon 100m hurdles were due to begin. The bizarre incident scattered pieces of the drone across the track and forced officials to delay the start of the event.
The drone was being used to capture aerial footage of the race and appeared to get too close to the hurdles while attempting a difficult manoeuvre. It eventually struck one of the hurdles and crashed onto the track, leaving officials with the task of clearing the debris before the athletes could take their positions.
Among the athletes waiting to compete was Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson, the 2025 Tokyo World Championships bronze medallist. The delay briefly interrupted the morning session on Day 5 of the championships before officials cleared the track and allowed the heptathlon competition to resume.
Johnson-Thompson subsequently produced a season-best performance in the hurdles, finishing fifth in the event and moving to 10th overall with 1,994 points after the morning session. Poland’s Adrianna Sulek-Schubert led the standings with 2,135 points, while Ireland’s Kate O’Connor was just one point behind.
The unexpected drone crash provided a bizarre start to the day at the European Championships, with the incident quickly drawing attention online. Despite the brief interruption, the competition continued as scheduled after the track was made safe and the athletes were able to resume their events.
