Marathon star Cairess bids for history at Worlds

Long before Emile Cairess began chasing down the world's best distance runners, he would race his mum between lampposts on the way home from nursery.

Cairess would initially complain about having to make the journey on foot, before that competitive focus fixed his attention.

Great Britain's new marathon star happily covers in excess of 120 miles per week these days.

As each step takes him closer to history, the 27-year-old is increasingly at home under the spotlight of the sport's biggest races.

Cairess finished third at last year's London Marathon, in what was only his second race over 26.2 miles.

He narrowly missed out on the Olympic podium in his third.

His fourth-place finish on his exciting Games debut in Paris was the joint-best marathon result by a British man for 40 years.

It has asserted the Yorkshireman as a genuine medal contender at this month's World Championships in Tokyo.

There, he could become the first British man to make the world podium in the marathon - and only the second athlete from his nation to do so, after Paula Radcliffe won gold 20 years ago.

"I'd be really happy to be the first British man to do that, but I'm trying not to think too much about history and stuff like that," Cairess tells BBC Sport.

"I think you always just have to look at it in terms of what you're capable of and what you can do.

"Maybe, if you think about that too much, it could feel a bit overwhelming. First comes being the best that I can be, and then the medals and whatever else is secondary to that."

Both in age and experience, Cairess is only just getting started in the marathon.

Described as horizontally laid-back by those closest to him, he has maintained perspective despite his seriously impressive start and is framing Tokyo as another step towards maximising his potential.

Cairess, who wears an old-school Casio watch in races as he prefers to run on "feel", hinted at what he is capable of when he broke Sir Mo Farah's then-British 10km record of 27 minutes 44 seconds in 2022, and set a European 10 mile record in 45:57 in 2023.

Following an eighth-place finish on his marathon debut in London, he became the second-fastest Briton of all-time by clocking two hours 06 minutes and 46 seconds on his return in 2024.

That is one minute 35 seconds short of Farah's national record - although he is aiming far beyond the four-time Olympic champion's best of 2:05:11.

"I feel like I can run quite a bit faster than 2:05 in the future," says Cairess.

"If I ran 2:05 in Valencia, for example, I think last year you would finish maybe 10th. So if I'm just thinking about that, coming 10th, I don't think that's great.

"I need to think about being competitive, and if you want to be competitive, in some races you have to be a bit quicker than that."

Competition for a marathon medal is fierce, with 10 men on the World Championships entry list having run under 2:06 this year.

It has been more than a year since Cairess' last marathon after an ankle tendon injury prevented him from starring in London this year, and he admits the event "feels a bit new again".

His preparation for Tokyo has not been without issue, either. Bouts of illness and an infected insect bite which required a course of antibiotics have forced periods of reduced training.

But, described as relentless by training partner Phil Sesemann, Cairess has still averaged above 120 miles per week over recent months.

He is coached by the esteemed Renato Canova, who has developed numerous global medallists, after Cairess - a long-time student of the Italian's methods - seized his opportunity to impress in a chance roadside encounter in Kenya.

"[Canova] has a pretty good idea of what I'm capable of and he gives me a lot of confidence because he's coached athletes that have been that good," adds Cairess.

"He's definitely confident in me and I'm hoping that I can do what we both think I can do [in Tokyo]."

Cairess prefers to keep the exact details of what that might be between them.

However, he intends to enjoy his post-championships travels around Japan - which are likely to incorporate his love of Pokemon - with a medal among his possessions.

"[A medal is] my goal, or one of my goals, for the race," Cairess confirms.

"On the track you have the reference of people racing week in, week out, but in the marathon maybe some people haven't raced at all in the build up and it's more difficult to predict.

"I'm looking towards the future to see what I can do. I want to do the best I can [in Tokyo], but it's another step towards learning the marathon and being the marathon runner that I think I can be."