| Emile Cairess | |
| Fullname: | Emile Michael John Cairess[1] |
| Birth Date: | 27 December 1997 |
| Birth Place: | Bradford, England |
| Education: | St Mary's University, Twickenham |
| Country: | Great Britain England |
| Sport: | Athletics |
| Event: | Long-distance running |
| Club: | Leeds City AC |
| Coach: | Renato Canova |
| Olympics: | 2024 Marathon, 4th |
Emile Michael John Cairess (born 27 December 1997)[2] is a British long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2019 European Under-23 Championships and a silver for the men's race at the 2022 European Cross Country Championships. Cairess is the European record holder for the road 10 miles. He finished 4th in Marathon in the 2024 Paris Olympics, the highest position for a British runner for over 20 years.
Cairess was born in Bradford and grew up in Saltaire. He won a bursary to attend Bradford Grammar School, completing his A Levels in 2016. He then studied at St Mary's University, Twickenham.[3]
During the under-23 race at the 2018 European Cross Country Championships, Emile Cairess fell over at half-mile stage but managed to move up 59 places for eighth position and a team silver medal.[4]
In January 2022 at the Valencia Ibercaja, he tied Mo Farah's over 10-year-old British 10 kilometres record with his time of 27:44.[5] [6] The 24-year-old set five other personal bests that year (3000 m, 5000 m, 10,000 m, 5 km, half marathon). At the European Cross Country Championships held in Turin, Italy in December, Cairess achieved his best performance up to that point, with silver medal in the men's senior race behind only reigning world 5000 m champion and European record holder in the event Jakob Ingebrigtsen.[7] [8]
On 4 March 2023, Cairess broke Richard Nerurkar's 30-year European 10-mile record (46:02) with a time of 45:57 at the 'Breaking 10' in Barrowford.[9] [10] Later that year, he finished sixth on debut in the London Marathon in a time of 02:08:07.[11]
On 21 April 2024, Cairess finished third in the London Marathon, qualifying for the Paris Olympics[12] [13] where he finished fourth.[14] [15] [16]
| 2018 | European Cross Country Championships | Tilburg, Netherlands | 8th | XC 8.3 km U23 | 24:07 | |
| bgcolor=silver | 2nd | U23 team | 30 pts | |||
| 2019 | European U23 Championships | Gävle, Sweden | 3rd | 10,000 m | 28:50.21 | |
| European Cross Country Championships | Lisbon, Portugal | 60th | XC 8.3 km U23 | 26:34 | ||
| 2021 | European 10,000m Cup | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 10th | 10000 m | 27:53.19 | |
| bgcolor=silver | 2nd | Team | 1:23:33.77 | |||
| 2022 | European Championships | Munich, Germany | 11th | 10,000 m | 28:07.37 | |
| European Cross Country Championships | Turin, Italy | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | XC 9.572 km | 29:42 | |
| 6th | Team | 46 pts | ||||
| 2024 | Olympic Games | Paris, France | 4th | Marathon | 2:07:29 |