Emile Cairess bids to make British marathon history at World Championships

Emile Cairess arrives in Tokyo aiming to become the first British man to win a World Championships marathon medal after a rapid rise through the distance ranks.

The 27-year-old from Yorkshire, who recorded a personal best of 2 hours 6 minutes 46 seconds in London in 2024 to become the second-fastest British marathoner in history, said a medal is among his goals but that he remains focused on executing his race rather than thinking about history. "First comes being the best that I can be, and then the medals and whatever else is secondary to that," he told BBC Sport.

Cairess has established himself quickly at elite level despite limited marathon experience. He finished eighth on his marathon debut in London, then moved to third the following year, and produced a high-profile fourth-place finish on his Games debut in Paris — a result that equalled the best British men's Olympic marathon placing in four decades. He also broke Sir Mo Farah's then-British 10,000-metre road record in 2022 and set a European 10-mile record of 45:57 in 2023.

His progression has been overseen by coach Renato Canova, the Italian trainer credited with guiding numerous global medallists. Cairess first made an impression on Canova during a chance roadside encounter in Kenya and has since described himself as a long-time student of the coach's methods. Training partners and colleagues describe him as relentless in his work but laid-back off the road. Phil Sesemann, a fellow British distance runner, has called him "relentless".

The build-up to Tokyo has not been without setbacks. An ankle tendon injury kept Cairess out of this year's London Marathon, and he has battled bouts of illness and an infected insect bite that required antibiotics, forcing intermittent reductions in mileage. Despite that, he said he has averaged above 120 miles per week in recent months as he prepared for the world championships.

Cairess prefers to race using feel rather than strict pacing, often wearing a basic Casio watch to avoid being overly focused on split times. He believes he can improve on his current best and has set his sights on becoming more competitive at the very top of the field. "I feel like I can run quite a bit faster than 2:05 in the future," he said, adding that to be consistently competitive in some races he may need to run quicker than that benchmark.

The field in Tokyo is deep: 10 men on the entry list have recorded sub-2:06 times this year, underscoring the level of competition Cairess will face. He acknowledged the unpredictability of championship marathons, where some athletes race frequently in build-up and others arrive having completed few distance races.

Paula Radcliffe remains the only British world champion in the marathon, winning gold 20 years ago. A podium by Cairess would mark the first time a British man stood on the world championships marathon podium.

Cairess has spoken of enjoying the experience of racing and travelling, saying he intends to take in some of Japan after the championships and that he hopes to have a medal among his possessions when he does so. He declined to lay out precise time targets publicly, preferring to keep detailed goals between himself and his coach.

At 27, with a rapid ascent through road and marathon ranks and the backing of an experienced coach, Cairess faces a major test of his medal ambitions in Tokyo against a loaded field. He remains measured about expectations while signalling he believes further improvement is possible as he continues to learn the event and chase the fastest men in the world.