Cairess, McColgan and Purdue lead British challenge at London Marathon

Olympic fourth-placer Cairess hopes to make his mark within the British capital as most of the nation’s main distance runners deal with 26.2 miles on April 27

After ending fourth within the Olympic marathon final summer time, Emile Cairess will lead the home problem on the TCS London Marathon on April 27.

Eilish McColgan, Charlotte Purdue, Rose Harvey, Jack Rowe, Mahamed Mahamed, Phil Sesemann and Alex Yee are additionally among the many entries, plus David Weir and Eden Rainbow-Cooper within the wheelchair races.

Cairess has had a meteoric rise since making his debut over 26.2 miles on the 2023 London Marathon the place he completed sixth in 2:08:07, turning into the quickest British debutant of all time over the well-known distance.

The 27-year-old went up one other stage once more in 2024. First he stormed by means of the sphere within the closing phases of the 2024 TCS London Marathon to complete third total. It was solely the second time a British male athlete had completed on the rostrum (exterior the para occasions) this century, after Mo Farah’s third place in 2018. What’s extra, Cairess’s ending time of two:06:46 positioned him second behind Farah on the UK all-time checklist.

Then finally yr’s Paris Olympic Video games the place once more he discovered internal reserves of power to come back by means of the sphere on that gruelling marathon course to complete fourth total, Britain’s finest end in an Olympic marathon since Jon Brown’s two fourth locations at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.

Now Cairess is trying to proceed his ascendancy on the 2025 London Marathon, the place Farah’s British report of two:05:11 may nicely be below menace.

Cairess stated: “I had an ideal yr in 2024 with some actually optimistic outcomes. My focus is all the time on getting the most effective out of myself. My runs on the TCS London Marathon and on the Paris Olympic Video games had been actually satisfying and exhibits the onerous work is paying off.

“I really like racing the TCS London Marathon as a result of it brings collectively the most effective athletes on the planet. I wish to be racing these guys on the large events and London gives that chance. I’ve three marathons of expertise now and I’m nonetheless studying in regards to the occasion, which makes me much more excited and optimistic for the longer term. I’m wanting ahead to placing in a great block of coaching and seeing what I can do on Sunday 27 April.”

Amongst these Cairess might be lining up alongside is fellow Brit and Olympic Video games triathlon champion Alex Yee, who’s making his marathon debut; Olympic marathon champion, Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia, and defending London Marathon champion, Alex Mutiso of Kenya.

Different Brits within the discipline will embrace two additional Paris Olympians: Mahamed, who was fourth in final yr’s TCS London Marathon, and Sesemann.

Marc Scott will return to London after making his marathon debut finally yr’s London Marathon the place he completed eleventh, whereas Jack Rowe, the winner of the previous two editions of The Massive Half, will make his debut over 26.2 miles.

McColgan will make her much-anticipated marathon debut within the elite ladies’s race after recovering from an injury-hit variety of years. The 34-year-old, whose mum, Liz, received the London Marathon in 1996, was scheduled to compete for the primary time over the marathon distance in 2023, off the again of her well-known gold medal within the 10,000m on the 2022 Commonwealth Video games in Birmingham. However accidents have delayed that marathon debut and now she is wanting ahead to lastly exhibiting what she will do on the well-known London course.

McColgan stated: “I’m actually wanting ahead to creating my marathon debut in London this yr. After a tricky 12 months of damage, I’m excited to lastly toe the road and begin the following chapter of my profession on the roads.

“I’ve all the time had such unbelievable assist on the streets of London when racing over the 10km and half marathon occasions, so I can’t wait to expertise what the total TCS London Marathon environment has in retailer.”

Different British ladies racing embrace Harvey, who completed final yr’s Paris Olympic marathon regardless of sustaining a damaged leg through the race; Purdue, the third-fastest British feminine marathoner of all time; Phily Bowden, who went ninth on the all-time British checklist when she ran 2:25:47 on the 2024 BMW Berlin Marathon; and Lucy Reid, who ran 2:26:35 on her marathon debut in Malaga in December.

Brits within the wheelchair races embrace Weir, racing the London Marathon for an unbelievable twenty sixth time in a row. The 45-year-old, who has received the London Marathon a report eight occasions, introduced that the Paris Paralympic Video games can be his final monitor competitors, however his ardour for racing on the roads exhibits no signal of slowing down and he confirmed he’s nonetheless very a lot aggressive on the world stage by ending second on the 2024 TCS New York Metropolis Marathon.

Within the ladies’s occasion, Rainbow-Cooper, who received her first Abbott World Marathon Main final yr when she tamed the well-known hills of the Boston Marathon, might be trying to problem once more on the London course. The 23-year-old, who competed at her first Paralympic Video games final summer time, has a best-placed end of third on the London Marathon from 2022.

British males

Emile CAIRESS (Private finest 2:06:46)
Mahamed MAHAMED (PB 2:07:05)
Philip SESEMANN (PB 2:08:02)
Jonathan MELLOR (PB 2:09:06)
Dewi GRIFFITHS (PB 2:09:49)
Weynay GHEBRESILASIE (PB 2:09:50)
Jake SMITH (PB 2:11:00)
Marc SCOTT (PB 2:11:19)
Luke CALDWELL (PB 2:11:33)
Dan NASH (PB 2:12:59)
Andrew HEYES (PB 2:13:52)
Alexander LEPRETRE (PB 2:15:01)
David BISHOP (PB 2:15:19)
Logan SMITH (PB 2:15:49)
William MYCROFT (PB 2:15:54)
James HOAD (PB 2:16:29)
Alex MILNE (PB 2:16:30)
Chris THOMAS (PB 2:16:32)
Carl AVERY (PB 2:17:01)
Sean HOGAN (PB 2:17:02)
Alex YEE (Debut)
Jonathan DAVIES (Debut)
Jacob ALLEN (Debut)
Jack ROWE (Debut)

British ladies

Charlotte PURDUE (PB 2:22:17)
Rose HARVEY (PB 2:23:21)
Phily BOWDEN (PB 2:25:47)
Lucy REID (PB 2:26:35)
Louise SMALL (PB 2:29:33)
Holly ARCHER (Debut)

British wheelchair males

David WEIR
John Boy SMITH
Simon LAWSON
Sean FRAME
Michael McCABE

British wheelchair ladies

Eden RAINBOW-COOPER
Jade JONES-HALL

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