British hopeful Emile Cairess ruled out of London Marathon by injury

Cairess finished third at the event last year and was hoping to challenge Mo Farah’s British record over the distance

Emile Cairess finished third in the London Marathon last year (PA Wire)

British hopeful Emile Cairess has been ruled out of the London Marathon after suffering an ankle injury.

Cairess clocked the second-fastest time by a British athlete on his way to a third-placed finish at the event last year, and looked set to again lead home hopes.

But an ongoing ankle tendon issue has scuppered his chances of featuring on the roads of the capital, preventing a tilt at Mo Farah’s national record of 2hr 5min 11sec.

“I was really looking forward to racing the world’s best marathon runners and to build on the progress I have made over the marathon distance,” the 27-year-old athlete said.

“It is an absolutely stacked elite men’s field at this year’s event which makes it a really hard one to miss. But, unfortunately, a setback in my buildup has persisted which has significantly impacted the consistency of training that is required to be at my best. My focus now is recovering properly, getting back to full training and returning to racing as soon as possible.”

The 27-year-old Yorkshireman finished fourth at Paris 2024 on debut at the Olympics and had hoped to build on a breakthrough year.

The elite men’s field remains exceptionally strong even with the Briton absent, with Jacob Kiplimo, the new half-marathon world record holder, tipped by many to challenge the 26.2-mile mark in 2025.

Defending champion Alex Mutiso, former world record-holder Eliud Kipchoge and Olympic champion Tamirat Tola are also set to compete on Sunday 27 April.

Track and road superstar Sifan Hassan and world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich, meanwhile, lead the women’s line-up.