Emile Cairess: Who is Yorkshire runner who overtook Sir Mo Farah to finish sixth in the London Marathon?

Cairess, 25, is a Yorkshire athlete and his performance brings to mind that of his Leeds City AC clubmate Phil Sesemann, the Leeds junior doctor who was the highest-placed British man in 2021, also on debut.

Cairess finished sixth in the elite men’s field with a time that makes him the third-fastest British man in history.

He’s from Bradford and grew up in the mill village of Saltaire, attending Bradford Grammar School where he was a top cross-country runner. His first club was Bingley Harriers, and he also played football for a junior team in Saltaire. He first began running with his mother Alison, a keen tennis player and art teacher, as a young child.

He won a bursary to Bradford Grammar, and after A Levels in 2016, went to St Mary’s University in London.