Emile Cairess


Emile Michael John Cairess 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 fourth in the marathon in the 2024 Summer Olympics, the highest position for a British runner for over 20 years.

Early life

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.

Career

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.
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. The 24-year-old set five other personal bests that year. 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.
On 4 March 2023, Cairess broke Richard Nerurkar's 30-year European 10-mile record with a time of 45:57 at the 'Breaking 10' in Barrowford. Later that year, he finished sixth on debut in the London Marathon in a time of 02:08:07.
On 21 April 2024, Cairess finished third in the London Marathon, qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris,
where he finished fourth.
In 2025, Cairess became the British 10,000 metres champion as the highest ranked Briton at the 2025 UK Athletics Championships.

Statistics

International competitions

Personal bests

; Road