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The Independent UK

Sport

Jack Rathborn

Emile Cairess shines at Paris Olympics marathon – can Team GB runner now win a major?

Emile Cairess Team GB Tamirat Tola Olympics Paris David Davies London

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“That’s nuts,” Emile Cairess remarked after finishing fourth in the men’s marathon at the Paris Olympics. He was not talking about his own performance, but instead the new champion and gold medallist Tamirat Tola and, specifically, the Ethiopian’s scorching splits. The 32-year-old stormed home on a sweltering day in Paris, clocking 2hr 6min 26sec thanks to a staggering second half of 61min 35sec to clinch a new Olympic record.

Belgium’s Bashir Abdi and Kenya’s Benson Kipruto won silver and bronze respectively. But Tola’s 21sec victory was made even more impressive given the stifling conditions and a course with some venom thanks to several punishing hills. The race was effectively over after 35km when Tola clocked a stunning 5km split of 14min 02sec, which is six seconds faster than the first heat of the men's 5000m round one this week.

The course’s total elevation was 1,430ft, significantly more than Boston (891ft) or New York (945ft). It did for a fading Eliud Kipchoge; the two-time defending Olympic champion could be seen walking at times before eventually stepping off the course at 31km.

But Tola made it look easy, particularly given his training block is unlikely to have been so specific, not when he was not even supposed to be in this race, having received the call just two weeks ago when compatriot Sisay Lemma pulled out injured. After Cairess ran the race of his life, the new Olympic champion has set a daunting standard.

The Bradford man stormed down the blue carpet at the majestic Esplanade des Invalides soon after in 2hr 7min 29sec, with the Eiffel Tower peeking over the stands. Cairess surged past Deresa Geleta of Ethiopia, a 2hr 3min man and more than three minutes faster on paper than the Briton (personal best 2hr 6min 46sec). But Cairess is built from the right stuff: from the Meanwood Training Camp in Leeds alongside Team GB teammate Phil Sesemann, who finished 46th, to the hills of Iten, Kenya and Sestriere, Italy.

“I’m pretty good at hills,” Cairess said after narrowly missing out on the podium and becoming the first British Olympic medal in the men’s race since Charlie Spedding in 1984. “I tried to keep a good pace. The hills come naturally to me, I think that was one of the advantages for me in the race today. I didn’t really care where I came, it is more about doing my best race and feeling I fulfilled my potential. I can’t control how fit the other guys are. I ran the best I could have and I’m really proud of myself.”

Great Britain’s Philip Sesemann (left) and Emile Cairess at the finish of the men’s marathon (PA)

Cairess has now backed up a third place at London this year with fourth in the Olympics, a race devoid of the comforts pacers bring. He’s starting to prove himself as a menacing racer, rather than a machine built for a flat race resembling a time trial.

Cairess has a lot to do if he is to slash several minutes off his personal best, yet the way he disposed of Geleta and other faster runners on paper suggests that will come in time.

“I feel like I can be up there in the majors,” Cairess maintains. “It’s only my third marathon, I’m still young. I’ve big goals but I just have to take everything step by step. Keep improving and working hard.

Tamirat Tola was not originally in the Ethiopia Olympic squad (PA)

“I always did cross country and I’m not scared of hills. It will be tougher to compete in [a fast, flat marathon such as] Valencia where the winning time might be 2hr 1min or 2 hr 2min, but hopefully I can get there.

“I just need more time, more fitness. Running is quite simple, it’s just a lot of training.”

And in that regard, he is in good hands with the venerable Renato Canova, the veteran Italian coach who has trained a who’s who of elite marathoners.

Road running and the majors in particular, since their inception in 2006, has largely taken over the sport in recent years. Particularly if you’re not contending for a podium at a major championship. Its allure has seen many track stars prematurely discard the prospect of medals at Olympics in a bid for larger prize funds, the New York City marathon pays its winners $100,000, and increased exposure on the roads. Cairess at just 26 could fall into that category, even though his strength, built from the mud-sapping conditions of British cross-country running, lends itself to the longer-distance races. He was just nine seconds back and runner-up to Jakob Ingebrigtsen at the 2022 European cross country championships.

(Reuters)

Only two Britons have ever won a world marathon major, with Mo Farah’s win in Chicago in 2018 and Paula Radcliffe able to count two New York City wins, although she can count five more victories in New York and London before the series was established.

The aggregate time of the three winners of the series so far this year, in Tokyo (2hr 2min 16sec), Boston (2hr 6min 17sec) and London (2hr 4min 1sec), is 2hr 4min 11sec. Yet Cairess remains bullish about his chances.

“It’s always been my target but you have to give respect to stuff,” he says. “When I’ve run one marathon and done 2hr 8min. Not many people win London. You could turn up in 2hr 2min shape and not win. It’s just really difficult. But it’s still my goal.”