| Great Britain’s newest marathon star Emile Cairess will lead the domestic challenge against the best racers in the world at the 2025 TCS London Marathon on Sunday 27 April.Cairess, who finished third at the 2024 TCS London Marathon and fourth in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games marathon, spearheads the British entrants, alongside David Weir and Eden Rainbow-Cooper, who will compete in the wheelchair races, and Scottish star Eilish McColgan who will make her long-awaited debut over 26.2 miles.Yorkshire’s Cairess has had a meteoric rise since making his debut over 26.2 miles at the 2023 TCS London Marathon where he finished sixth in 2:08:07, becoming the fastest British debutant of all time over the famous distance. The 27-year-old went up another level again in 2024. First he stormed through the field in the closing stages of the 2024 TCS London Marathon to finish a stunning third overall. It was only the second time a British male athlete had finished on the podium (outside the para events) this century, after Sir Mo Farah’s third place in 2018. Furthermore, Cairess’s finishing time of 2:06:46 placed him second behind Farah on the all-time list of the fastest British marathoners. Cairess enhanced his reputation further still at last year’s Paris Olympic Games where again he found inner reserves of strength to come through the field on that gruelling marathon course to finish fourth overall, Britain’s best result in an Olympic marathon since 2004. Now Cairess is looking to continue his ascendancy at the 2025 TCS London Marathon, where Farah’s British record of 2:05:11 could well be under threat. Cairess said: “I had a great year in 2024 with some really positive results. My focus is always on getting the best out of myself. My runs at the TCS London Marathon and at the Paris Olympic Games were really satisfying and shows the hard work is paying off. I love racing the TCS London Marathon because it brings together the best athletes in the world. I want to be racing these guys on the big occasions and London provides that opportunity. I have three marathons of experience now and I’m still learning about the event, which makes me even more excited and positive for the future. I’m looking forward to putting in a good block of training and seeing what I can do on Sunday 27 April.” Among those Cairess will be lining up alongside at the 2025 TCS London Marathon is fellow Brit and Olympic Games triathlon champion Alex Yee, who is making his marathon debut; Olympic marathon champion, Tamirat Tola (ETH); and defending TCS London Marathon champion, Alex Mutiso (KEN). Other Brits in the field will include two further Paris Olympians: Mahamed Mahamed, who was a stunning fourth in last year’s TCS London Marathon, and Phil Sesemann. Marc Scott will return to London after making his marathon debut at last year’s TCS London Marathon where he finished 11th, while Jack Rowe, the winner of the past two editions of The Big Half, will make his debut over 26.2 miles. McColgan will make her much-anticipated marathon debut in the elite women’s race after recovering from an injury-hit past 12 months. The 34-year-old, whose mum, Liz, won the London Marathon in 1996, was scheduled to compete for the first time over the marathon distance in 2023, off the back of her famous gold medal in the 10,000m at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. But injury has delayed that marathon debut and now she is looking forward to finally showing what she can do on the famous London course. McColgan said: “I’m really looking forward to making my marathon debut in London this year. After a tough 12 months of injury, I’m excited to finally toe the line and start the next chapter of my career on the roads. “I’ve always had such incredible support on the streets of London when racing over the 10KM and half marathon events, so I can’t wait to experience what the full TCS London Marathon atmosphere has in store.” Other British women racing include Rose Harvey, who finished last year’s Paris Olympic marathon despite sustaining a broken leg during the race; Charlotte Purdue, the third-fastest British female marathoner of all time; Phily Bowden, who went ninth on the all-time British list when she ran 2:25:47 at the 2024 BMW Berlin Marathon; and Lucy Reid, who ran 2:26:35 on her marathon debut in Malaga in December 2024. Brits in the wheelchair races include David Weir, racing the London Marathon for an incredible 26th time in a row. The 45-year-old, who has won the London Marathon a record eight times, announced that the Paris Paralympic Games would be his last track competition, but his passion for racing on the roads shows no sign of slowing down and he showed he is still very much competitive on the world stage by finishing second at the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon. In the women’s event, Eden Rainbow-Cooper, who won her first Abbott World Marathon Major last year when she tamed the famous hills of the Boston Marathon, will be looking to challenge again on the London course. The 23-year-old, who competed at her first Paralympic Games last summer, has a best-placed finish of third at the London Marathon from 2022. The complete elite fields will be announced at 16:00 GMT tomorrow (Thursday 16 January). 2025 TCS London Marathon: British men entry listEmile CAIRESS (Personal best 2:06:46) Mahamed MAHAMED (PB 2:07:05) Philip SESEMANN (PB 2:08:02) Jonathan MELLOR (PB 2:09:06) Dewi GRIFFITHS (PB 2:09:49) Weynay GHEBRESILASIE (PB 2:09:50) Jake SMITH (PB 2:11:00) Marc SCOTT (PB 2:11:19) Luke CALDWELL (PB 2:11:33) Dan NASH (PB 2:12:59) Andrew HEYES (PB 2:13:52) Chris PERRY (PB 2:14:57) Alexander LEPRETRE (PB 2:15:01) David BISHOP (PB 2:15:19) Logan SMITH (PB 2:15:49) William MYCROFT (PB 2:15:54) James HOAD (PB 2:16:29) Alex MILNE (PB 2:16:30) Chris THOMAS (PB 2:16:32) Carl AVERY (PB 2:17:01) Sean HOGAN (PB 2:17:02) Alex YEE (Debut) Jonathan DAVIES (Debut) Jacob ALLEN (Debut) Jack ROWE (Debut) British women entry list Charlotte PURDUE (PB 2:22:17) Rose HARVEY (PB 2:23:21) Phily BOWDEN (PB 2:25:47) Lucy REID (PB 2:26:35) Louise SMALL (PB 2:29:33) Holly ARCHER (Debut) Eilish McCOLGAN (Debut) British wheelchair men entry list David WEIR John Boy SMITH Simon LAWSON Sean FRAME Michael McCABE British wheelchair women entry listEden RAINBOW-COOPER Jade JONES-HALL ENDS |
| Notes to Editors About the TCS London Marathon The 2025 TCS London Marathon will take place on Sunday 27 April 2025. This will be the 45th edition. The London Marathon was first held on 29 March 1981 and the millionth finisher in the history of the event crossed the line in 2016. Since the first London Marathon in 1981, the event has raised more than £1.3 billion for charity. The 2025 TCS London Marathon Official Charity of the Year is Pancreatic Cancer UK. London Marathon Events passes its surplus each year through corporate Gift Aid its parent charity, the London Marathon Foundation (the operating name of The London Marathon Charitable Trust, a registered charity (283813) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales (01550741), registered office: 190 Great Dover Street, London, SE1 4YB). Since 1981, the London Marathon Foundation has awarded £108.5 million to more than 1,700 projects that inspire activity in London, Essex and across the UK. For more information, visit tcslondonmarathon.com About Emile Cairess (GBR)Born: 27 December 1997 (Age 27) Marathon best: 2:06:46 – London 2024 London Marathon record: 2023 – 6th 2:08:07, 2024 – 3rd 2:06:46 Other Abbott World Marathon Majors: N/A Marathons in major championships: Olympics: 2024 – 4th 2:07:29 Notes: Cairess is the new star of British marathon running. He burst onto the scene on his marathon debut at the 2023 TCS London Marathon when he ran 2:08:07 to finish sixth overall and running the third-fastest time in history by a British man. He went even faster 12 months later when he ran 2:06:46 to become the second-fastest Brit ever (behind Sir Mo Farah) and to finish a fantastic third place overall, becoming only the second British man to do so this century (after Farah). He then produced an incredible run at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games marathon where he finished fourth overall, the highest placing by a Brit at an Olympics since Jon Brown in 2004. Cairess won a silver medal at the 2022 European Cross Country Championships in Turin. He was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, and took up the sport as a young child alongside his mother, Alison, an art teacher with a passion for running. He studied at Bradford Grammar School, the same school as Olympic marathon runner Richard Nerurkar and the Brownlee brothers: Alistair and Jonny. About Eilish McColgan (GBR)Born: 25 November 1990 (Age 34) Marathon best: None London Marathon record: None Other Abbott World Marathon Majors: None Marathons in major championships: None Notes: McColgan is one of Britain’s all-time great female distance runners. A four-time Olympian, McColgan is the British record holder for 10K (30:00) and 10 miles (50:43) and the second fastest of all time (behind Paula Radcliffe) for the half marathon (65:43). She had the moment of her career at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where she matched the achievement of her mum, Liz, in winning the 10,000m title and won a silver in the 5,000m as well. She also won two more medals in the 2022 European Championships – silver in the 10,000m and bronze in the 5,000m. McColgan has been planning her marathon debut since 2023, but injuries have prevented her from making it to the Start Line. She will famously be following in the footsteps of mum, Liz, who won the race in 1996 and was runner-up in 1997 and 1998. About David Weir (GBR)Born: 5 June 1979 (Age 45) Marathon best: 1:26:17 – Boston 2016 London Marathon record: 2000 – 4th 1:47:11, 2001 – 3rd 1:50:55, 2002 – 1st 1:39:44, 2003 – 2nd 1:34:48, 2004 – 2nd 1:36:56, 2005 – 3rd 1:36:03, 2006 – 1st 1:29:48, 2007 – 1st 1:30:49, 2008 – 1st 1:33:36, 2009 – 2nd 1:28:57, 2010 – 3rd 1:37:01, 2011 – 1st 1:30:05, 2012 – 1st 1:32:26, 2013 – 5th 1:31:31, 2014 – 2nd 1:32:42, 2015 – 2nd 1:31:32, 2016 – 3rd 1:35:21, 2017 – 1st 1:31:06, 2018 – 1st 1:31:15, 2019 – 5th 1:37:32, 2020 – 2nd 1:36:06, 2021 – 3rd 1:31:33, 2022 – 3rd 1:30:41, 2023 – 5th 1:32:45, 2024 – 3rd 1:29:58 Abbott World Marathon Majors top results: 1st – Berlin (2015), 1st New York (2010) Marathons in major championships: Paralympics: 2012 – 1st 1:30:20, 2016 – DNF, 2024 – 5th 1:33:27; Worlds: 2020 (2021) – 5th 1:29:45, 2006 – DNF, 2011 – DNS, 2015 – 2nd 1:31:32, 2019 – 5th 1:37:32 Notes: Weir is the most successful elite athlete in the history of the London Marathon with an incredible eight victories. Incredibly, 2025 will also be his 26th consecutive London Marathon since his debut in 2000. In the previous 25 editions, he has only finished outside the top three on four occasions. He won the Mini London Marathon seven times as a junior and is still the only male athlete to win both mini and senior events. He is a six-time Paralympic gold medallist, having won two at the Beijing 2008 Games and four at London 2012 when he was nicknamed ‘Weirwolf’. He brought his incredible Paralympic career (which started in Atlanta in 1996) to a close in Paris at the 2024 Games where he finished fifth in the marathon. Weir is coached by Jenny Archer and together they run the Weir Archer Academy in Surrey. He was born with a severed spinal cord and started racing aged eight. About Eden Rainbow-Cooper (GBR)Born: 17 May 2001 (Age 23) Marathon best: 1:34:17 – Berlin 2023 London Marathon record: 2022 – 3rd 1:47:27, 2023 – 7th 1:47:43, 2024 – 6th 1:50:39 Abbott World Marathon Majors top results: Boston – 1st (2024); Tokyo – 2nd (2024); Berlin – 2nd (2023) Marathons in major championships: Olympics: 2024 – DNF; Commonwealths: 2022 – 2nd 1:59:45 Notes: A rising star of British wheelchair racing, Portsmouth’s Rainbow-Cooper achieved the biggest result of her career so far and became the first British woman to win the Boston Marathon in April 2024, which came just weeks after she finished as runner-up at the Tokyo Marathon. She made her Paralympics debut at the 2024 Paris Games where her best result was seventh in the 1,500m. She made her London Marathon debut in 2022, where she finished third, and in major championships that year she won a silver medal in the 2022 Commonwealth Games Marathon. Rainbow-Cooper was born with sacral agenesis. She began wheelchair racing in 2013 and is coached by the Dutch coach Arno Mul. |
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